The Right Order
by moonlightandmagnolias85
Summary: He goes to the twenty-four hour Walgreens, his heart racing, and buys every pregnancy test he can get his hands on. Now is not the time to read boxes and compare brands. The clerk looks at him with amusement when he checks out. "Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" she asks curiously. Enjolras grins sheepishly. "Only a bad thing if she's not." *Another Comfortable sequel*
1. Chapter 1

"I feel like I haven't seen you in days," Eponine says as she snuggles against his chest. "You've been working extra long."

"I know. That's almost over, though, just a few more days." He kisses the top of her head. "I miss you."

"Miss you, too." She kisses his chest, then swirls her tongue around his nipple, biting gently. "Are you too tired...?"

"Nope." He grins and swiftly pushes her onto her back, attacking her neck with his lips. His hands push up her flimsy nightgown as his fingers trail patterns over her stomach. She sits up just enough to let him slip the nightgown over her head and Enjolras moves his lips back to her neck, his hands just barely ghosting over her nipples.

He moves his lips slowly down her chest to her left breast and runs his teeth over the hardened peak, his other hand finding Eponine's other breast and squeezing. Eponine whimpers at the contact, then gasps. "Ow! Ow, stop. Stop!"

Startled, Enjolras quickly pulls away, terrified that he's somehow hurt her. "I'm sorry! What did I do? Are you alright?"

Eponine reaches up and gingerly touches her breasts, wincing. "Ow. Jesus, they _hurt. _That was awful."

Now he's a little worried. Her breasts are her erogenous zone number one – to have her not want to be touched there is totally unusual. "Why do they hurt? Has that ever happened before?"

"No. That's weird..." She frowns and looks at him. "Try it again, maybe it was just a fluke."

Enjolras raises his eyebrows. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously." She grabs his hands and puts them to her chest. "Do your thing."

"'Do my thing?'" He's beginning to think she's insane.

"Squeeze, bite, suck...you know. All the stuff that makes me squirm."

"Well now it just doesn't feel right."

"Goddammit, Enjolras, just fucking do it."

"Fine. Bossy. Can I at least kiss you first?"

"I suppose." She smirks, but leans forward and lightly touches his lips with her own. He deepens the kiss by pulling her closer, running his tongue over her bottom lip and teeth. They kiss for a few minutes, trying to get the mood back, and Eponine reaches down and squeezes him through his pajama bottoms. She begins stroking him and Enjolras quickly feels himself getting hard. He's practically forgotten about before with the way she's touching him, and moves his mouth back to her breasts. He unconsciously bites harder at her nipple as she squeezes him and she yelps again, pushing him roughly away from her.

"Ow. Ow. Okay, it _hurts."_

Enjolras lets out a ragged huff and glares at her. "Yeah, I gathered that. Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." She frowns and glances around the room for a minute, her eyebrows furrowed. Suddenly, she reaches over and grabs her phone from the nightstand, beginning to type something in.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm Googling 'why do my breasts hurt?' I know it can sometimes happen because of your period but that has literally never happened to me."

"Oh. Smart, I guess..." He shifts uncomfortably, hoping they can get back to their previous activity once this mystery is solved.

"Oh my God." She looks up at him, her eyes wide. "Enj..."

"What? Is it bad? Are you alright?"

"I'm an idiot is what I am. Oh my _God."_

"Eponine, fucking _tell me_."

"I think I'm pregnant."

"Come again?"

"That's the first thing it says!"

Enjolras grabs the phone, quickly reading through the article she's pulled up and trying not to get too excited. "Well that could definitely be one reason why they hurt...but it could be something else, too. Are you supposed to start your period soon? We shouldn't get our hopes up over something so small."

"This has _never _happened to me before, weren't you listening? Ever. I know my body, Enjolras. I know we've only been trying for two months, but maybe it happened!" Eponine is clearly trying to keep the hope from her voice, but is failing miserably. "I'm not supposed to start my period for a week. Do you think a test would pick it up already if I'm pregnant?"

"I have no idea. Do you want me to go buy one?"

"Yes! I have to know now." Eponine grabs her nightgown and pulls it back over her head. "Get every freaking brand they have, I have no idea which one is the best."

"Okay." Enjolras is definitely not aroused anymore as he vaults off the bed and begins to change. "I'll be right back, okay?" He leans over and quickly kisses Eponine, then runs out the door to the car, actually making the tires screech when he pulls out of the driveway.

He goes to the twenty-four hour Walgreens, his heart racing the entire time, and buys every pregnancy test he can get his hands on. Now is not the time to read boxes and compare brands, and he isn't concerned with the amount of money he spends. The clerk looks at him with amusement when he checks out.

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" she asks curiously.

Enjolras grins sheepishly. "Only a bad thing if she's not."

"Good luck then."

Enjolras grabs the bags and bolts out of the store; in total, he's only been gone for twelve minutes. That's a record. It only takes him four minutes to drive back home (when it usually takes 7.) Pretty good time.

He slows himself down before going into the house; he doesn't want to let Eponine know how much he hopes these tests say positive, just in case they don't, so he wants to play it nonchalant. When he walks into the living room, however, any chance of things staying normal go right out the window. Eponine sits on the couch flanked by Courf and Grantaire, and Combeferre sits in the armchair.

"What the hell?"

"Apparently these manly men heard you peel out of the driveway like a bat out of hell and were a little alarmed. They were worried you'd murdered me in a fit of passion and wanted to check that I was still alive." Eponine rolls her eyes and glances at the three bags that Enjolras carries with him. "Did you buy enough?"

"I think so..." He glares at his friends for a minute, thinking (not for the first time) that he and Eponine really have to find somewhere to live that's a little farther away from them. (Although, if she's pregnant, they'd be great babysitters. Or...not, on second thought. There's no way he's leaving his child in their care, except for maybe 'Ferre.)

"Why so secretive?" Grantaire asks, narrowing his eyes and trying to peer into the bags Enjolras is carrying. "What was so important that you had to make a midnight run?"

"None of your business. Now, as you can see, my wife is fine. Thanks for checking. Now get the hell out."

Enjolras turns his glare on them all, and they reluctantly rise. Just as they're making their way past him, however, Courfeyrac darts out and grabs one of the bags from Enjolras' hands, reaching in and pulling out one of the tests in the blink of an eye.

His eyes widen as he turns to look at Eponine. "Oh my God! You're knocked up!" He points an accusing finger at her and Eponine throws a pillow from the couch at his head.

"If we knew that, would Enjolras be carrying three bags full of pregnancy tests? Use your brain, Courf!"

"Whoa. But you think you might be?" Combeferre asks excitedly. "Is this planned? Are you guys trying? You didn't say anything!"

Enjolras sighs and tosses the bags onto a chair. "Yes. We're trying. And now, I'd really like to find out if we succeeded. And I'd like it to be a private thing..."

Combeferre, absolutely the most rational of the three, begins to usher Courfeyrac and Grantaire out of the house. "Absolutely. Come on, guys, we can't be here for this. But you'll call and tell us? Tonight?"

"Please?" Grantaire echoes, looking at Eponine with puppy dog eyes. "I'm not going to be able to sleep at all now, especially if I don't know."

Eponine looks at Enjolras and shrugs. "Well, it does seem kind of cruel to not tell you guys now. But seriously, don't get your hopes up. I've only been off birth control for like, nine weeks. So even if I am pregnant, it might be too early to even tell. So please don't act disappointed if it's a no." She says it casually, but Enjolras can tell she's going to be very, very disappointed if the results are negative. He wraps an arm around her shoulders and kisses her forehead.

"Of course. Either way, it'll happen eventually," Combeferre says reassuringly. "Good luck!"

He firmly closes the door behind them and Eponine shakes her head in disbelief. "Sometimes I can't decide if we have the best friends in the world or the most idiotic. Or both."

"Both," Enjolras says firmly, and hands Eponine the first bag. "Time to pee on some sticks, babe."

Eponine laughs. "This is so gross, but I'm just going to pee in a cup, then dip them in. Doesn't that seem logical?"

"Well, you've thought it through more than me."

"You're not watching me pee."

"It's not like I haven't seen it before."

"No. Stay here." She pushes on his chest to get him to sit down on the couch and takes the bags from him, going back through their bedroom to the attached bath. She's gone for a few minutes, and Enjolras gets more and more nervous the longer he waits. She comes back out after a few minutes and sits next to him, immediately beginning to tap her leg.

"I left them in there. They all said to wait fifteen minutes. I didn't want to stare at them the whole time."

"Okay. It's 12:32. So, 12:47, we go in and check?"

"Yep."

They sit silently for three minutes, then Eponine bursts out, "Holy shit, Enj. I might be pregnant. Like, going to give birth to an actual human being – _our _human being – in seven to nine months kind of pregnant."

"Is there another kind?" Enjolras asks with amusement.

She rolls her eyes. "Aren't you nervous?"

"Extremely. Are you?"

"Yes. But I don't want to be too excited. I mean, even if I'm not, I know we'll have a baby eventually, but...I don't know. I just want to now. I want a little holy terror with curly blond hair and blue eyes running around while ranting about the idiocy of the government and U.S. foreign policy and staging protests in the Quarter."

Enjolras' eyes light up as he feels his chest swell with pride at this completely (so far) imaginary child. "You really wouldn't mind that?"

Eponine shrugs, scooting into his lap. "Not so much."

"We have three more minutes to wait," Enjolras announces and rests his forehead against Eponine's shoulder.

"You said you're nervous, but...will you be happy?" Unless he's mistaken, Enjolras hears a little bit of trepidation in Eponine's voice.

He raises his eyes to meet hers. "Eponine, I will be ecstatic. More than. You have no idea. I absolutely want a child with you."

"Okay. Just checking." She smiles and kisses him quickly, then glances at the clock. "Okay. One minute left." She bites her lip and slowly stands up. "I'll go check. Just stay here. If it's a no, I'm gonna need a minute."

"Okay. Call me if you need me." He watches her go into the bedroom and then runs his hands through his hair, suddenly more nervous than he's ever been in his life; way worse, even, than when he spontaneously asked Eponine to marry him, or when he finally grew the balls to tell her he loved her.

In just a few seconds, Eponine comes back into the living room, carrying three of the little sticks in her hands. "Oh my God!" She bursts into tears and thrusts one at him.

Enjolras takes it, a bit startled, and unsure whether she's crying because she's happy or upset. When he looks down and sees the little plus sign, however, his heart stops and his breath catches in his chest. "You're...?" He can't even finish his thought, and she's nodding at him, hands over her mouth. "Oh my God." The room is spinning, and Enjolras leans forward to put his hands on his knees. "Oh my God," he says again.

Eponine laughs and gently rubs his back. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. Yeah. Oh my _God._" Enjolras quickly straightens and grabs her, lifting her off her feet and holding her tightly to his chest. "I can't believe it."

Eponine is smiling wider than he's ever seen her smile before, and she clings tightly to his neck. "Wow. Wow...for it to even pick it up, I have to be at least two weeks. Probably more..."

Enjolras pulls away and kisses her roughly, mumbling "I love you" against her lips.

He soon feels more tears against his cheeks and pulls away to find her crying harder. He gently cups her face and brushes them away with his thumbs; he's only seen Eponine cry a few times in her life, and even when it's happy tears like now, he still hates it.

"I'm sorry." She leans forward and buries her face in his chest, soaking his t-shirt. "I just...I was really hoping and I'm so relieved. And excited, and happy, and..." she hiccups and clings to him for a few more minutes as he soothingly rubs her back. "I don't cry! Why am I crying?"

Finally, she pulls away, sniffling. "We have to tell Courf, R, and 'Ferre."

"Oh, yeah...I guess I should call them." Enjolras reaches for his cell phone, but Eponine shakes her head.

"Watch and learn."

She walks over to the front door and slowly opens it to reveal the Three Stooges sitting on the front steps, half asleep with their heads resting on their hands. When the door creaks, Grantaire's head quickly straightens and he elbows the other two. He stands up and faces Eponine, giving her a sheepish smile, but quickly frowns when he sees her obviously wet eyes, clearly thinking it's a bad sign.

"So, it's a no...?"

"It's a yes," Eponine grins, then laughs when Grantaire lets of a whoop of joy and scoops her up in his arms. Enjolras is even grinning like a madman, his usually composed and stoic mien too excited and happy to contain himself. Courf claps him delightedly on the back and Combeferre solemnly embraces him.

"Congratulations, daddy," Courf says excitedly. "You guys are gonna be kick-ass parents."

"Really, Enjolras, congratulations. You're gonna be a wonderful father," Combeferre says confidently, and Enjolras suddenly feels tears pricking his own eyes. He's going to be a father. A little human being is going to call him daddy.

Eponine smiles at him knowingly and wraps her arms around his waist again, kissing his neck.

"Group hug. Come on, Enj. Just this once," Courfeyrac pleads, and Enjolras rolls his eyes, but gestures them forward.

"Five seconds. I give you five seconds and then you go home," Enjolras says firmly.

"I'll take it!"

They are enveloped in a brief, but tight hug by their friends, and when Enjolras counts to five, everyone lets go as promised.

"Alright, we're getting out of here now. You need to get your rest, Eponine," Combeferre says firmly. "Go easy on yourself for a while."

"Don't worry, Enjolras will watch her like a hawk. He's gonna be the most over-bearing, over-protective parent you've ever seen."

"I am not. And I'm definitely not the boss of her." Enjolras gently shoves Courfeyrac and Grantaire towards the door. "Now good night, guys."

"Fine, fine...good night." The three guys leave and Enjolras turns back to look at Eponine. He doesn't know what to say he feels so overwhelmed (in a good way.) Finally he holds out his hand and Eponine takes it, tugging him towards the bedroom.

She slips under the covers on her side of the bed and turns to face Enjolras. They still don't speak for a while, until Eponine slowly smiles. "Two years ago we weren't even together and now we're married and pregnant. And we did it in the 'right order.' Proved my dad wrong."

Enjolras laughs. "I told you you were going to be stuck with me from now on."

"I like being stuck with you."

"I like being stuck with you, too."

* * *

**Shit, guys. I wrote that little one-shot proposal last night and the response was so great, and then I realized I had never read a story about Eponine getting pregnant _on purpose_ and then I realized I knew exactly how it would happen for these two in the whole _Comfortable_ universe...and then I just wanted to write it. Crap. **

**Now, the question is...is it worth continuing the whole way through? Making a multi-chapter thing out of? (Not huge, but more than just a oneshot.) Let me know if I should just leave it here or if you would like me to continue! Hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Chapter 2

Even though Enjolras carries the first sonogram picture in his wallet all the time (which shows nothing more than a little blob, really), it doesn't feel real until he hears the baby's heartbeat for the first time at around ten weeks. There is actually something _in there. _Until now, it's almost seemed like a dream. Eponine has no morning sickness, no strange cravings, and only very subtle changes in her body so far. (Which Enjolras is thoroughly enjoying; she's always had a great rack, but now they're even bigger, and he's pretty sure he could spend all day with his face nuzzled against her chest.) She doesn't look pregnant and she keeps saying she doesn't feel pregnant, either.

After they hear the heartbeat, however, in the following days Enjolras frequently catches her with her hands cradled protectively over her stomach. No one but Combeferre, Courfeyrac, and Grantaire knows since it's still early and they don't want to take any chances, but they are both bursting with the news.

Especially since Cosette is now eight months pregnant herself and absolutely _miserable._

They're all out to dinner at a Mexican place and Enjolras is half-listening to Cosette (because he's curious as to what to expect from Eponine in the coming months) while still trying to appear engaged with what Jehan is saying at the other end of the table.

"I have to pee every five seconds, my ankles are the size of grapefruits, I have heartburn all the time, I have gained weight _everywhere._ My face is a puffy, nasty mess! I'm sorry. I really wanted to get pregnant. I love my baby. But this _sucks._"

As he surveys Eponine from the corner of his eye, he can tell she's starting to freak out a little bit. He is pretty sure this is the first time he's ever heard Cosette complain about _anything_, for as long as he's known her, so she must feel pretty bad. Marius soothingly rubs Cosette's back and Eponine makes a sympathetic noise, but she shoots Enjolras a quick look of panic. He clearly reads, _Fuck, this is going to happen to me! _in her gaze.

He squeezes her leg underneath the table, and not for the first time, praises the universe that he isn't a woman.

"I'm sure it'll be worth it once the baby is here, Cosette," Musichetta says brightly. "And I've heard that heartburn means it'll have lots of hair! You guys are going to have the cutest baby ever." _Until ours gets here_, Enjolras thinks.

"Let's hope so," Cosette mutters. She quickly makes a face and smiles apologetically. "I'm sorry, guys, this is pathetic. I shouldn't be complaining when so many people can't have a baby that want to. I'm horrible."

"No, you're not. You're just...a little bit miserable. And that's okay!" Eponine smiles and eyes Musichetta's frozen strawberry margarita jealously. Her excuse for sticking with water is that it's a school night and she has to work early the next day, but Enjolras wonders if anyone suspects anything. Eponine is _never _one to turn down alcohol. In fact, this might be the first time _ever _in all his years of knowing her. It will be a miracle if no one notices.

They duck out of dinner early since Eponine is tired (the only negative of her pregnancy so far) and she leans her head against the window as he drives home, eyes closed. He keeps one hand on the wheel and the other rests on her leg.

"Musichetta knows," she suddenly says, and Enjolras glances over at her.

"Did you tell her?"

"Nope. She guessed. Took one look at me after I ordered water, pulled me to the bathroom, and asked point blank."

Enjolras laughs. "I wondered if someone would pick up on you not drinking. She knows not to tell, right?"

"Yeah. I told her we would tell everyone on Christmas. Which, by the way, is kind of funny, since it's almost exactly two years since we've been together." It's also only two weeks away; only two week until her first trimester is already over.

"I know. It's a little weird. I just hope our baby doesn't share a birthday with our anniversary. That would suck." Eponine is due June 17th and their wedding anniversary is June 22nd. It's definitely cutting it close.

They pull into the driveway a few minutes later and go into the house. Eponine heads straight for the bedroom, strips off her clothes, and burrows under the blankets. She's immediately out like a light, even though it's only 7:45. Enjolras stays up for another few hours before he joins her in bed. He snuggles up to her back, wrapping one arm securely around her waist. His movement accidentally wakes her up.

"What time is it?" she asks groggily.

"Eleven. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." He kisses her shoulder and presses his hand against her stomach. "Hey...you feel different," he says softly. Her stomach isn't completely flat anymore; there's a little, hard bump underneath his hand.

"Hmm?" She moves his hand and feels her own stomach. "Oh. Whoa. Weird. I swear it wasn't like that this morning!"

Enjolras grins, moving her hand out of the way again to place his own there. "This is so cool."

"Yeah, while it's still this size. When I'm carrying around a watermelon at nine months pregnant and it's 90 fucking degrees and 100 percent humidity outside, I'll be as miserable as Cosette, and neither of us is going to think this is very cool anymore."

"I could tell she freaked you out a little."

"A little? Try a lot." She turns over and looks at him seriously. "You know what she told me? She literally _cannot _stop farting. She said she has gas all the time. Cosette doesn't _fart, _I mean, come on. She's like...perfect! If it's this bad for her, it's going to be hell for me. I hadn't really thought about it yet, but holy shit. I'm going to get huge and fart all the time and you're literally going to watch me expel a human being out of my body. How are you ever going to find me attractive again?"

He snorts in laughter and kisses her forehead. "Well, when you put it like that it sounds sexy as hell."

"Shut up. I'm serious."

"Eponine, I promise: no matter what you look like or how much gas you have, I will never love you any less than I do right now. And I don't think I could possibly love you any more."

"Pretty words." She sighs, but the side of her mouth finally curves up and she kisses him softly. "I love you, too."

"Go to sleep, Ep." He draws her closer and tucks her head under his chin. "Good night, love."

* * *

By the time Christmas comes, Eponine is wearing baggy clothes to hide her now obvious little bump. It's still not big, by any means, but if she wears her regular clothes, it's definitely noticeable. She definitely popped over the last two weeks. Enjolras loves it. He's constantly touching her, lifting up her shirt and running his hand over her stomach, and holding her against him on the couch or in bed. She always bats his hands away when they're in public, but indulges him when they're at home.

And he is incredibly, incredibly turned on by her, even though she wants absolutely nothing to do with him sexually at the moment. She keeps reassuring him that everything she's read says that once she's out of her first trimester, her libido should return in full force. He's really hoping that's true because he doesn't know how much longer he can stand not touching her.

He's watching her dress now and squirming uncomfortably as he sits on the edge of the bed. Of course, since it's Christmas, she's wearing red. And he _loves _her in red. The dress is tight and shows off her toned legs nicely, and it hugs her middle and shows off her little bump perfectly. Not to mention her boobs look amazing.

"Fuck, Eponine. Can't we just call everyone and cancel? Tell them we both have the flu and our house is contaminated?" He's aware he sounds like a whiny little boy, but he doesn't care.

She laughs and turns to look at him. "Merry Christmas to you, too, Scrooge. What's wrong?"

"You look beautiful."

"And that's bad?"

"For me. I want to rip that dress off of you." He eyes her suggestively and does his best to look seductive, hoping it's enough for her to take him up on it this time.

She bites her lip and cocks her head, narrowing her eyes. "It actually doesn't sound half bad right now. Tonight?"

Enjolras groans and flops back onto the bed, grabbing a pillow and smashing it over his face. He jumps when he feels Eponine's weight suddenly straddle his hips and flings the pillow away hopefully. She leans down and brushes her lips against his, slipping her hands underneath his shirt and running her nails lightly over his stomach. "I'm sorry, Enj. I know, seriously, it's been weeks...the longest we've ever gone without having sex since we've been together."

"By far," he says irritably, and she grins, lightly raining kisses along his jaw.

"Don't be mad at me."

"I'm not..." he sighs and puts his hands on her thighs, pushing her dress up. "I just miss you. But I know you haven't felt like it at all and I don't want you to just because I'm a horny bastard."

"I swear, it's actually sounding really good right now...but we don't have time. Everyone will be here soon. I promise that I will let you do _whatever _you want to me tonight."

He raises his eyebrows. "Whatever I want?"

"Within reason. I don't think I should be _quite _as adventurous as usual. And I get to be on top." She smirks, sits up and slides off of him, grabbing a sweater and slipping it on over her dress to hide her stomach until they make the announcement. They both finish getting ready and go to the kitchen, making final food preparations and making sure there's enough booze available to satisfy everyone, though it's a certainty that their friends will bring even more.

Combeferre, Grantaire, and Courfeyrac show up first since they're just across the street, lugging more beer, as expected, along with their Christmas presents. Enjolras grins when R immediately leans down and kisses Eponine's stomach. "Merry Christmas, Enjy Jr!"

Eponine smacks his head and rolls her eyes. "Oh my God, you're such a dweeb."

"Here," Courfeyrac hands her what could pass for a present, though it looks more like a five year old wrapped it than an adult. "We got you guys a baby present. Open it before everyone else gets here."

Eponine gasps and tears the wrapping paper off immediately. She's a sucker for gifts. "Aw, you guys didn't have to do that!" She cackles when she sees what's in the package and holds it up for Enjolras to see. It's a tiny little onesie that says, 'My mom is hot.'

Enjolras sighs and rolls his eyes, though he tends to agree with the statement. "Seriously, guys? My child is going to have more class than that."

"No, he's not!" Eponine exclaims. "He's going to wear this _all _the time. 'Cause it's true." She sticks her tongue out at him and balls up the onesie, tossing it at his head.

Enjolras smiles and catches it, suddenly struck by how _tiny _it is. "Jesus, is it really going to be this small?" (He also notes her use of the word 'he' and remembers to ask her why she said it later. Is it wishful thinking or does she have a hunch?)

"It's a newborn size," Combeferre shrugs. "So yeah, for a little while, I guess it will be that small. Kind of crazy."

"I have to confess, babies scare the shit out of me." Courfeyrac shudders. "They look so breakable. Like bald little aliens. And all they do is sleep, poop, and eat."

"Courf, that's what you do. And they love breasts, so really, babies are kind of like your spirit animal," Grantaire says.

"Huh. Well, when you look at it like that..." Courfeyrac grins. "We have a lot in common. Maybe I should babysit."

Eponine is about to reply when the front door suddenly opens and Marius and Cosette enter. Enjolras shoves the onesie back in the box and tosses it behind the Christmas tree. He doesn't want to ruin the surprise for later.

Everyone else shows up within the hour and they dig in to the food, some crowded around the dining room table and others lounging on the floor of the living room. Gavroche has eyed Eponine curiously since he arrived, and Enjolras suspects that he knows something is up. He knows his sister better than anyone, even better than Enjolras sometimes.

Eponine has planned something silly to tell everyone, something that centers around Gavroche, and as soon as they're done eating, Eponine ushers everyone into the living room to open presents. They draw names every year to choose who to buy for since there are just too many of them to get every single person a gift; they'd all go broke if they did that every year.

When everyone is finished and wrapping paper litters the floor, Eponine hands Gavroche a sizable package wrapped in penguin paper. "I have one more for you, Gav." She's practically bouncing with excitement and Combeferre has the camera ready, at her request. Enjolras is trying his best to hide a goofy grin, but he finally just gives up when he notices Gavroche's confusion as he opens the present.

"What the hell is this? Why did you get me a doll?" he asks curiously. It's a frilly little babydoll, which is clearly a strange thing for a twenty-one year old kid to receive.

"Read the bottom!" Eponine yells impatiently.

Gavroche looks at her like she's crazy but looks back at the doll and reads what she wrote on the bottom of the packaging. "_'Can't wait to meet you, Uncle Gavroche...'_" He blinks, and then suddenly realizes what it means. He looks quickly up at Eponine and gasps. "What?! No way!"

Everyone is paying attention now, and Jehan grabs the doll from Gavroche. "You're pregnant?!"

"Yeah," Eponine admits delightedly. "I'm a little over thirteen weeks. We wanted to wait to tell you guys until it was safe."

"But we knew!" Grantaire says victoriously. "We've known all along."

"Oh my gosh!" Cosette is actually crying. "Our babies are going to grow up together!" She leans over and hugs Eponine tightly. "And I hope you are as miserable as me while you're pregnant!" She laughs and wipes her eyes.

Enjolras is silent, just enjoying watching everyone be excited and happy for them. He feels unbelievably lucky that they have such amazing friends who are going to be there for him and for their kid. There's really not much more he could ask for, other than a healthy baby.

By the time everyone leaves that night, the house is mostly clean and the dishes have been done, thanks to Musichetta bossing the boys around and insisting it was rude to leave for a pregnant lady to do. And once they are alone, Eponine keeps her promise. They make love for the first time in weeks and it's the same, yet very different, and just as amazing as always. Eponine insists on curling up on the couch and looking at the Christmas tree afterwards, so Enjolras wraps them up in a blanket and rubs Eponine's back until she falls asleep with her head against his chest.

He loves her. Everything is perfect, and he loves her.

* * *

**1. Response to that first chapter was freaking incredible. I had NO idea whether or not this would go over well, so I'm really excited you guys like it!  
**

**2. More fluff. Yay!**

**3. There will be smut in the next chapter. And some problems. So get ready. **

**4. I have no personal experience with pregnancy, but I'm at that age where _several _of my friends have had babies or are pregnant right now, so I'm relying on their experiences for both Cosette and Eponine. I was also lucky enough to be present when my cousin gave birth to twin girls, so I have that to go on, too. Everything in this story is going to come from personal experience, just not...directly? lol (NO babies for me. I have 25 kids at school. That's enough.)**

**4. _Breaking the Rules_ will be updated tomorrow. I'm writing both at the same time, but not forcing myself to work on any particular one. It's just going to be whatever I want to write at the moment. **

**Anyway, hope you guys continue to enjoy and liked this chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

Enjolras knows Eponine is back to herself when she calls him at 11:13 on a Wednesday morning. Or, rather, an exaggerated version of herself, because this has definitely never happened before.

He picks up the phone on the second ring. "Hey, babe. What's going on?"

"Hi. So. Booty call?"

"Huh?"

"You need to come over here in about twenty-five minutes and have sex with me on my lunch break. And yes, I'm serious." She sounds deadly serious, actually, so serious that Enjolras isn't sure whether she means it or not.

Enjolras sits back, a bit dumbfounded, and pulls his ear away from the phone to look at it quizzically. Is this really happening? "Uh...why?"

"Why do you think? I'm hormonal and I just...ugh." She sighs and he hears a thunk, imagining she's just banged her head dramatically against the wall. "I'm really horny, Enj. I can't wait until after work. It has to be _now._"

They've always had an intense sex life, but this is a little bit surreal. Second trimester hormones have definitely kicked into full gear, and he's not going to complain. "Are you sure you want me to do this? At your _school? _An _elementary _school, with little kids all over the place?"

"Yes. Absolutely. Just come to my classroom. I can lock it and the kids will stay in the cafeteria for lunch."

"Okay...well, I'll see you in a little while then. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye!" She already sounds perkier when she hangs up the phone and Enjolras laughs, running his hand through his hair and shaking his head. He didn't expect this was going to be a part of the next nine months when he saw the positive pregnancy test. But he definitely isn't going to complain, either; he loves Eponine's unpredictability and the way she keeps him on his toes. He never knows what's coming next with her.

In about ten minutes, he tells his co-workers he's going to go surprise his wife with lunch and leaves the office. The drive to Eponine's school doesn't take very long, and he walks in to see her tip-toeing down the hallway to the cafeteria with her first graders, playing some sort of quiet game to keep them silent as they pass other classrooms. It's now four weeks after Christmas, and at about seventeen weeks pregnant, there's no hiding her stomach anymore. In fact, her baby bump is bigger than Cosette's was at this point...she just hasn't gained much weight anywhere else. Enjolras thinks she's absolutely gorgeous.

Also unlike Cosette, Eponine isn't uncomfortable at all. In fact, she's working out and doing yoga as usual, and from behind, it's hard to even tell she's pregnant. It isn't until she turns to the side that it's obvious. She's trying not to rub it in to Cosette, who finally had her baby girl about a week ago. She isn't complaining anymore, though, and her and Marius are completely in love with the baby. It also helps that her labor was relatively easy in relation to her pregnancy.

When Eponine sees him at the end of the hall, she grins, her eyes sparkling. "Everybody wave to Mr. E!" she whispers, and her students obediently wave excitedly as they pass him. A few can't help the excited hellos that escape their mouths, and Eponine gently shushes them, squeezing his hand on her way past. "I'll meet you in my room in a few minutes."

"Okay." He can't resist, and pulls her gently back to him, quickly kissing her cheek before he lets her go. The little girls mostly giggle at the gesture while the little boys make disgusted faces and Enjolras laughs as he makes his way to Eponine's classroom. She joins him in a few minutes and locks the door behind her, letting out a dramatic sigh.

"Oh Lord. Thank God you're here. Take off your clothes."

He holds up his hands and shakes his head. "Hold up. I am not getting naked in your classroom. No way."

She glares at him for a minute, pursing her lips, and then nods shortly. "Fine. Not necessary, I guess. Just your pants then." She's already reaching under her dress and removing her panties, tossing them onto her desk chair. He notices her desk is clear of _everything _when it's usually completely cluttered.

"Uh...did you prepare or something?"

"Absolutely. We don't have _that _much time, I had to be ready." She tugs on his tie and perches on the edge of her desk, trailing kisses along his jaw. "And don't tell me that banging a sexy teacher isn't one of your fantasies. You are probably as excited about this as I am." She squeezes him through his pants and nods in affirmation. He's already halfway hard. "Yep, you are."

He laughs and lovingly caresses her stomach. "What's going on with you today? Is it really that bad?"

"You have no idea. I am so unbelievably turned on right now. Just _smelling _you...ugh." She wraps her legs around his waist and kisses him hard, teeth crashing and tongues tangling together. Enjolras wraps his arms around her and slowly leans her back, moving his lips to her ear and pulling it between his teeth. She whimpers and tilts her head, taking one of his hands and putting it between her legs.

"You're so wet." He can tell she's as ready as she said she was, and his fingers are coated in her juices as he skillfully begins to touch her. He kisses her cleavage, being careful not to bite or suck too hard and leave visible marks. The first graders definitely don't need to be asking what those are when they come back from lunch. He _needs_ to leave a mark, though, because just kissing her isn't enough, so Enjolras pulls her dress down further, exposing her lacy bra. He pulls one side back with his teeth and sucks at the soft flesh.

"Whoa, tiger," Eponine laughs at his frantic actions, but gasps when his teeth graze her nipple, reaching up to firmly hold his head against her. "Oh...oh, shit. This was such a good idea. I'm so glad I called you..." Her voice trails off distractedly as he slips a finger inside of her while he begins stroking her clit with his thumb. She moans low in her throat and Enjolras slows his movements down a little, trying to make it last longer for her.

"Fuck, Eponine."

He moves his mouth to her other breast as she begins squirming underneath his hand. He pulls away to look at her; he can't resist. Her head is thrown back, her long hair trailing along the desk, and her mouth is open in a perfect "o" shape. Her cheeks are flushed and her lips swollen from their kiss, and somehow, she has never, ever looked sexier. He tells her so, beginning to squirm a bit himself as his erection strains against his pants.

She opens her eyes and looks at him, grabbing his wrist and making his fingers pump faster into her. "Seriously? Even with...this?" She's breathless as she gestures to her stomach, and Enjolras nods.

"I've never, ever wanted you more. I kind of really like it," he finishes lamely, and blushes.

Eponine laughs and narrows her eyes at him. "I think this is probably one of those weird, primal, male feelings. You're totally proud of yourself for knocking me up, so you find it really sexy."

"I'm not going to argue." He kisses her again and winces when she bites down hard on his lower lip.

"Oh...oh, fuck...oh, God...Enj..." Her walls have clenched around his fingers and she's obviously trying not to be too loud as she comes. Enjolras covers her lips with his again and grins as she continues to mutter obscenities against his mouth. She finally relaxes and Enjolras slips his fingers out of her.

"That was fucking amazing," she says quietly, and opens her eyes to look at him. Enjolras is already pulling down his pants and boxers, and Eponine grins, raising her legs and hooking them over his shoulders as she lies flat on her back on the desk.

Not for the first time, Enjolras wonders how he could have gone from leading a pretty celibate life to having crazy, mind-blowing sex with his pregnant wife in a very public place. He's pretty damn lucky, that's for sure.

He grips Eponine's legs and gently pulls her towards him, guiding himself into her carefully. She feels so fucking good around him. "So, just to let you know...I don't know how long I can make this last," he informs her seriously.

His head is already spinning, and he absolutely can't force himself to go slow. He slams into her in short, fast thrusts, holding her legs firmly against him.

Eponine doesn't answer, clearly just enjoying the ride. She reaches out for one of his hands, though, and he grasps hers tightly, pulling her up just enough so that she can move with him. She leans back on her hands and moves her own hips against his, eyes shut tightly. She comes again after a few minutes with a sharp cry, biting down on her lip so hard she draws blood, and Enjolras spills into her with a low moan, thrusting a final more times as he rides out his own orgasm.

They don't speak as Enjolras pulls out of her and gathers her against his chest, kissing her forehead tenderly and pulling her slightly sweaty hair away from her face. She keeps her eyes closed and leans against him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

After a few minutes, Eponine leans up and licks at the hollow of his throat. Somewhere along the line, he'd lost his tie and apparently loosened his collar. He has no recollection of that even happening. "Okay, so...unless that was a fluke, sex while pregnant is way more fucking intense than before. I'm not even kidding, those were the two best orgasms of my life," Eponine says matter-of-factly. "Good job, babe."

Enjolras laughs and glances at the clock on the other side of the room. Her lunch break is almost over. "Any time. It was pretty good for me, too. I think you're right about this whole primal instinct thing."

She grins up at him. "Aw, that's cute. You feel like such a manly man right now."

"I kind of do. I got you pregnant _and _caused the two best orgasms of your life? I'm fucking awesome."

"And incredibly modest." She reaches up and wraps her arms around his neck, kissing him slowly. He tangles his hands in her hair and deepens the kiss, trying to tell her how much he loves her just by his actions, though he knows she already knows. After a minute, she reluctantly pulls away and sighs, resting her forehead against his. "Thank you for coming. I love you."

"I love you, too." He kisses her nose, then steps away, grabbing a box of baby wipes from a shelf nearby so they can clean themselves up before rejoining the real world. "And just so you know, feel free to summon me for lunchtime sex anytime."

* * *

The next week is the official ultrasound – the big one. They decided a long time ago they want to know the sex of the baby, mostly because Eponine is incredibly impatient. Enjolras would be happy to be surprised, but he doesn't really mind knowing, as long as Eponine is satisfied.

She seems nervous on the ride there, clutching his hand and wriggling around in her seat. He glances over and rubs his thumb soothingly over her hand. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Just anxious." She bites her lip and looks out the window. "We haven't talked about this at all. Why haven't we talked about this? Do you want a boy or a girl?"

"I don't care," he says honestly. "I just want a healthy baby."

She turns and gives him a death glare and he's surprised. "What? Was that the wrong answer? Not only is it true, it's also politically correct. You can't get mad at me for that."

"I'm not _mad._ I just...oh my God, Enj. I _really_ want a boy."

"Really?" He's kind of surprised; she's surrounded by guys all the time, practically raised her brother, and hell, is still kind of raising Courf and Grantaire. If he had to guess, he would have thought she'd want a girl.

"Yeah. I have _no idea _what to do with a girl. And I am one – speaking from experience, we are horrible. The hormones and periods and _feelings _and...no. Just no. Boys are easier. I know your kind well. You're so predictable and easy."

He laughs and shrugs. "I guess that's true. I wouldn't mind a girl, though. At all."

"Well, just hope for my sake that it's a boy or else I'm going to freak out and be incredibly stressed for the next few months."

He can tell she's serious and it kind of worries him. "Ep, you do know the odds are fifty-fifty, right? There's a good chance it _is _a girl. And even if it is, it's not going to be bad. It's going to be great, especially if she's like her mother."

Eponine rolls her eyes, but smiles. "You are such a sap. When did this happen to you?"

"I guess you bring it out in me."

He feels his phone buzz in his pocket and knows it's Grantaire bugging him again. The guy is seriously invested in this baby, mostly because he's always cared about Eponine so much, and he's making damn sure Enjolras texts him as soon as he knows anything. Eponine hears it buzz and laughs. "Is that R again? He just watched us leave ten minutes ago, he can't seriously think we know anything yet?"

"I'm just gonna turn it off. He's insane. That also could be my mom, though, because she's kind of turned insane, too."

Enjolras has to admit – his mother isn't nearly as bad as he always thought she was; in fact, she has shown up unexpectedly several times over the last few months, ever since she found out about Eponine's pregnancy. She's brought baby presents, food, and most importantly, just shown a real interest in getting to know both Enjolras and Eponine. She is a typical Southern lady; outspoken, perfectly coiffed at all times, and able to hold her liquor. Anne Marie Enjolras has made it perfectly clear to both of them that she is determined to be a part of her grandchild's life, and she seems to genuinely really, really like Eponine. And Eponine likes her, surprisingly. So Enjolras is keeping his mouth shut and giving his mom a second chance. His dad hasn't been nearly as interested, however, and the likelihood of a second chance there is slim.

A few minutes later, they arrive at the doctor's office and go inside. They're a little bit early, since Enjolras is a stickler for being on time, and are almost immediately ushered back into a room. Enjolras is a little bit uncomfortable as Eponine changes into a gown and hops up on the little bed thing with the stirrups – he has no idea what it's called. It's incredibly weird and a little uncomfortable watching the doctor poke around at his wife _down there_, even if said doctor is a woman, and he stays near Eponine's head.

"Everything looks okay down here," Dr. Juan announces. "You can put your legs down, Eponine, and change back into your clothes. I'll be back in a few minutes and we can get the ultrasound started."

"Okay." Eponine changes quickly and lays back down on the table, pulling her shirt up and rubbing her stomach. "I'm getting really big," she observes. "Cosette saw me the other day and said I'm way bigger than she was at eighteen weeks. This doesn't bode well."

Enjolras grins and leans down, pressing his lips against her stomach. "I like it."

He straightens quickly when the door opens and the doctor comes back in. She gives him a knowing look, but doesn't mention it, instead asking, "Alright, are you guys ready to see your baby?"

Eponine nods and reaches for his hand, wincing when the doctor squirts the cold gel on her stomach. "And would you guys like to know the sex if I can tell? It's not a guarantee I'll be able to see, but it's pretty likely at this stage."

"Yes, we'd like to know," Enjolras answers right away.

"Great! I'll do my best," the doctor promises, and turns the machine on. "And just so you know, I'll be checking for quite a few different things today. I'll look at the baby's heart and spine, take some measurements to make sure everything is developing correctly, make sure the placenta is okay...things like that. If I see any problems, I'll talk you through it. And if you have any questions at any point, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Okay, thanks." Eponine has a death grip on his hand and Enjolras pulls his chair closer to her, looking anxiously at the monitor as the doctor begins to move the little probe over Eponine's stomach. And suddenly, he can see it. It's not a blob anymore, but clearly a _baby._

"Whoa," he whispers, and Eponine glances at him, grinning. "That's...a baby."

"What did you think it was going to be?" she teases.

The doctor smiles at their conversation, but stays silent, writing things down on a chart and moving the probe all around.

"Oh my gosh!" Eponine laughs as they clearly see the baby turn over on the monitor and Enjolras looks at her stomach, his eyes wide.

"Can you feel that?" he asks in amazement and is disappointed when she shakes her head.

"No, I can't...I haven't felt anything yet."

"That's normal," the doctor reassures her. "Your baby is still only about...eh, maybe six and a half or seven inches long? And not even a pound. It's normal not to feel any movement, especially with a first time mom, until a few weeks from now. You may feel it sooner, though."

"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl yet?" Eponine asks anxiously.

"Hmm, give me a minute." The doctor moves the probe some more and then pushes against Eponine's stomach a bit, trying to get the baby to move into a good position. Finally, she says triumphantly, "Ha! Gotcha. Okay, are you ready?"

Enjolras holds his breath and looks at Eponine, carefully watching her face. She nods and squeezes his hand.

"It's a girl," the doctor announces, and Enjolras thinks his chest is going to explode from happiness.

He lets out his breath in a rush and laughs, then leans over to kiss Eponine passionately, surprised to find tears pooling in his eyes. He quickly rubs them away and shakes his head, mentally telling himself to snap out of it. He rests his elbows on the bed near Eponine and laughs again as he runs his hands through his hair. He is absolutely floored. "Oh my God. Wow."

Enjolras leans into Eponine's hand when he feels it on his cheek, her thumb stroking gently. He knows she might be upset to hear it isn't a boy like she wanted, but he is so ecstatic that he doesn't totally care at the moment.

"You okay?" she asks quietly. "Getting a little emotional there, babe." She sounds amused and surprised at his reaction.

Enjolras opens his eyes and looks at her. "I'm great. Amazing. How do you feel?" He studies her, trying to read her expression, and is relieved to see that she seems fine, happy even.

"I'm good. It's okay. It really is. I'm a little freaked out, but..." She looks back at the screen and shrugs, a content smile on her face, and he understands what she means without her having to say it outright. That's their baby, and it doesn't matter that it isn't a boy because she's already fallen in love with it anyway.

He suddenly can't _wait _until June 17th.

* * *

The other surprise they receive at the appointment is that the doctor thinks Eponine might actually be a week or two further along in her pregnancy than they originally thought. Apparently, the baby is measuring around twenty weeks, so now her due date is pushed up a little bit, though the doctor stresses that for first time mothers, the due date is really just a rough guesstimate. The baby might just decide to stay in there until the end of June, for all she knows. Everything else looks great, though, and Enjolras is literally the happiest he's ever been.

It's strange, actually; his whole life, he never really thought about having a family or being a father. His dislike for his own father, for multiple reasons, probably has something to do with it, he supposes. Even after meeting Eponine and knowing she wanted a family, and knowing he wanted to be the one to give it to her, it still didn't seem like a huge priority. But then once it happened, once she was actually pregnant, everything changed. He's always known he would die for Eponine, but now there's another person in the world that he would willingly give his life for. And he hasn't even met her yet.

That makes the phone call he receives on Thursday of the next week all the more terrifying.

It's his day off, and one of his colleagues calls asking for a favor. He's in court today and forgot some important documents in the office, so Enjolras swings by to get them and then heads to the courthouse downtown. He's just descending the steps to the street after dropping everything off when his cell phone rings. He recognizes the number as Eponine's school, and his brow furrows. Why would she be calling him from the main office line and not her cell phone?

"Hello?" he answers curiously.

"Hi, is this Gabriel Enjolras?" It's an unfamiliar voice.

"Yes, it is."

"Hi. This is Ms. Allen, from Arthur Hughes Charter School..." He picks up on the nervousness in her voice and pauses on the steps. The back of his neck prickles, all of the hair standing on end, and he suddenly, instinctively knows something is wrong. "I...Mr. Enjolras, Eponine had an accident here at school. She just left in an ambulance, they're taking her to Oschner..."

His heart literally stops and he has to remind himself to breathe. His voice shakes when he asks, "What...what happened?"

"She fell while she was on the playground with her kids. I don't know if she's okay or not, I'm so sorry I don't have more information for you."

"They're taking her to Oschner?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I...thank you." He hangs up and leans over, resting his hands on his knees. His vision is white and he closes his eyes, chest heaving. He's pretty sure he's hyperventilating and he can't think clearly at all.

He just needs to get to her.

* * *

**1. Help. I can't stop writing. In the last three weeks, I have literally written _40,000 fucking words._ All E/e. THIS IS NOT RIGHT. Just so you know, I also work 70 hours a week. HOW AM I DOING THIS? (Oh, right. I don't sleep much.) If I could just channel this creativity into an original story, I might actually stand a chance of getting published someday. I think my priorities are skewed.**

**2. I started making photosets for each chapter on tumblr 'cause I was bored. Follow me there to see them.**

**3. Please don't hate me for what I've done in this chapter. But do please let me know what you think, even if it is murderous.**


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as Enjolras pulls himself together, he runs. He frantically dials Eponine's cell, dodging people on the street and screaming in frustration as it rings and rings before going to voice mail. A few vulgar curses loudly escape his mouth and he just ignores the stares of several shocked older ladies walking past him. He dials again as he fumbles with his keys and gets into the car. His hands are shaking so much he can barely get the key in the ignition and he angrily throws the phone down as it goes to Eponine's voicemail again. What the fuck is going on? Why isn't she answering?

The drive to the hospital feels like it takes forever, even though the gas petal is literally on the floor, and it will be no surprise if flashing lights show up behind him. Whatever. If they do, there's no way in hell he's stopping. They'll have to arrest him if they want to stop him from getting to this hospital and finding out if she's okay. If they're both okay.

His chest gets tight again and his knuckles turn white against the wheel as his mind takes over; he can't help but imagine the worst, and he doesn't even know what the worst might entail. Losing the baby? Losing Eponine? Surely it's not as bad as that. It's probably nothing, and he's completely over-reacting and freaking out for no reason. He'll show up and see her happy and smiling, and she'll tell him everything is fine, and he'll cry out of sheer relief. And then she'll make fun of him for being such an emotional basket-case when he cried about a total of _ten times _in his life before he met her. Fuck, since she got pregnant alone he's cried at least ten times. He's pathetic, and wrapped around this baby's little finger already, just like he is with Eponine. So if he loses them, there's really nowhere to go from there. Living wouldn't be worth it. But he isn't going to lose them. He isn't.

Before he knows it, Enjolras is inside the hospital and desperately asking where Eponine is. He must look as crazy as he feels because the lady behind the desk that's finding Eponine's room for him is looking at him with clear concern. She gives him quick directions without him having to ask her to speed it up, which he appreciates, and he sprints the rest of the way to her room. He meets a nurse halfway down the last hall that stops him.

"Sir, sir! I need you to slow down. Where are you going?"

"My wife..." Enjolras gestures down the hall. "Eponine Enjolras? I'm her husband."

"Oh. Oh, of course." She reaches out and touches his arm and Enjolras flinches. "We're keeping a close eye on her, Mr. Enjolras. I'm sure everything is going to be fine."

He wants to ask what's going on, but he wants to see Eponine more, so he just nods and keeps going, speed-walking the rest of the way. He barrels into the room like a bull and is suddenly at her side, gently gathering her to his chest, before he even registers anything else. He presses his lips against her hair and holds her tightly, not saying a word.

"Enj!" Eponine is surprised and it takes her a minute to react. When she finally does, she clings to his arm, and he realizes she's shaking a bit. She picks up on his distress right away and twists away to look at him. "Oh, babe..." Tears pool in her eyes and Enjolras kisses her quickly. She's pale and her whole face is a bit puffy from crying. She looks awful, and it worries him more.

It's then he registers Grantaire on the other side of the bed, though he doesn't ask questions yet, and sees all of the monitors and IVs that she's hooked up to. Her hospital gown is pulled up to expose her stomach and all sorts of little machines are strapped on. His breath hitches again and Enjolras takes Eponine's face in his hands. "Ep, what happened? Are you alright?"

She bites her lip and shrugs. "I'm so sorry. I know you're scared out of your mind. I just..."

"What's happening?" he asks impatiently, and probably too loudly, and feels Grantaire's hand on his arm.

Eponine looks at Grantaire gratefully and turns away, covering her mouth to keep from crying again. Seeing him so frantic has obviously upset her, probably after she's just calmed down, and Grantaire pulls him into the hall for a private chat.

"Enj, you need to get it together. You're freaking her out again, and you can't grill her right now. She's blaming herself already and..."

"Blaming herself for what? What's happening? Is..." he can't finish the thought.

"She fell. Apparently one of her kids took her down pretty hard while they were at recess, and she fell on her side, and...I don't know the whole story. It happened this morning and she thought she was fine. She said she started to have cramps after lunch that ended up being contractions and just felt weird, and there was some blood."

Enjolras leans heavily against the wall, his eyes wide. It's bad. Grantaire stops talking for a minute, letting him process what he's said so far, and Enjolras nods for him to go on after a minute. Grantaire sighs and runs his hands through his hair, suddenly looking scared himself.

"Enj, she's like...fucking in labor or something. She's having contractions and they're in here every five seconds listening to the baby's heartbeat and looking at the monitors and she's rightfully scared out of her mind."

Enjolras leans over now, thinking he might be sick. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." Grantaire puts his hand on Enjolras' shoulder and squeezes, and he asks tightly, "What does that mean? What's going to happen?"

"They're trying to stop it. They've got her hooked up to some sort of medicine I can't remember the name of to try and make it stop."

"What if it doesn't work?"

"I don't know..."

"Fuck," he swears again.

"Look, man, you've gotta get it together before you go back in there. She's Eponine, and you know she's a fucking mess, but she's not going to want to show it, and you need to be there for her. So don't go back in there if you can't pull yourself together."

Enjolras knows he's right. It's just such a shock, how quickly everything can change. As fast as they found out she was pregnant, now she could just...not be?

"Okay. Okay." He straightens up and shakes his arms a bit, rolling his neck back and forth. "Get it together," he mumbles. After a minute of deep breaths and jogging in place, Enjolras feels more like himself, a rock of composure. He opens his eyes and nods gratefully at Grantaire. He's still not sure why or how he's here, but he's beyond grateful. "Can I have some alone time with her?"

"Yeah, man, you don't have to ask. I'll be right out here if you need me."

Enjolras nods and goes back into Eponine's room. Her eyes are glued to one of the monitors, the one that's spitting out a stream of information that looks something like a seismograph. He has no idea what any of it means. Without saying a word, he sits down close to the bed and takes her hand, pressing it against his lips.

Eponine glances at him, and the fear is evident in her gaze. "I'm sorry," she says again.

"Stop. Stop it. This isn't your fault and I will never, ever blame you," he says firmly. "And everything is going to be fine, Ep. You're both going to be fine."

She finally turns to look at him, her jaw clenched. "You don't know that. I'm having a fucking contraction _right now _and you don't know that it's going to be fine. I might have to give birth to our _dead baby _today and it is not fine! I'm not fine! Don't tell me it's going to be fine!" She's almost hysterical now and Enjolras moves to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling her up gently against his chest and wrapping his arms around her. He's steady now, determined to be calm and bring her down from this. He's sure being this anxious and stressed isn't helping anything, so he just rubs Eponine's back and smoothes her hair. Eventually, he feels her relax against him and she buries her head in his chest, her breath shaky but calmer.

Their doctor comes back in a few minutes and gives them an empathetic smile as she sees their position. "Hi, guys. I need to check things out again, honey, if you don't mind. You can stay where you are, Mr. Enjolras. I'm glad you were able to get here."

He nods and manages a small smile. "Yeah, thanks. And my friend told me a little of what's going on, but do you mind explaining again for me?"

"Of course. Right now, Eponine is in pre-term labor, though I'm hesitant to even call it that; I'm not incredibly worried, honestly. Looking at this," she gestures to the machine, "the baby's heart-rate is strong and completely normal. You _have not _lost the baby, and if the medicine keeps working, I don't think you will."

"But worst case scenario..." Eponine says uncertainly.

"The worst case scenario is your labor progressing to the point that we can't stop it. If you were to deliver today at twenty-one weeks, the odds are so very microscopic and miniscule that the baby would survive more than a few minutes that I can't even give them to you; however, I can't stress enough that I don't think that this is going to happen. You were having nine contractions an hour when you first got here, Eponine, which is fairly significant, but you've only had two in the last thirty minutes. Your cervix is still closed and baby girl's heart is fine. We'll do another ultrasound soon to take a look at everything one more time, but I really think the worst is over."

Enjolras lets out a breath of relief and squeezes Eponine's hand. "And her falling caused this? Is that common?"

"It's not unheard of. You said you fell pretty hard; you may have landed in just the right way to cause this. Or there could have been an issue we weren't yet aware of. I really think we need to wait a little longer, though, to talk about next steps. We just need to see what happens now."

"Okay. But you really think it's going to be alright?" Eponine asks anxiously.

"Yes, I really do. We'll do everything we can to make it okay."

Enjolras thanks the doctor and turns back to Eponine once she leaves. "See? It's going to be fine. We're not having a baby today, Eponine. We're _not._"

Eponine nods and closes her eyes, slowly leaning back against the bed, but keeping her hand securely in his. "Okay, I know. You're right, it's going to be fine. I'm sorry I was so crazy. It's just been so terrifying, and as amazing as Grantaire was, he isn't _you _and you didn't answer and I needed you."

Enjolras swallows the guilt he feels and leans over to kiss her. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I don't know what happened. Did you call my cell? It never rang, I have no missed calls from you..." Realization dawns and he groans, gritting his teeth. "Shit. I ran to the courthouse and I stayed a lot longer than I thought I was going to. I don't get any service in that building."

"Oh. Yeah, I know that..." she sighs and reaches up to run her fingers through his hair. "It's not your fault, Enj. I'm just glad you're here now."

"And you called Grantaire?"

"Yeah..." Eponine manages a laugh and glances towards the door, since she knows he's waiting in the hall. "I thought he was going to pass out a few times, but he's been so amazing. I'm glad he was home."

"Did the contractions hurt?" Enjolras asks, feeling guilty again that he wasn't there to help her though that.

She shrugs. "A little bit, but not bad. Like really bad cramps and my back ached sometimes. I guess I can consider it a preview because I am not doing this again for at least sixteen fucking weeks." She glares down at her stomach as if to send that same message to the baby.

"Absolutely not."

He settles down in the chair next to the bed again, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. He's still worried, there's no doubt about that, but he definitely feels more optimistic than he did before. There's nothing to do now but take it minute by minute, anyway; Enjolras has no idea what to expect or what's coming, so there's no sense speculating. Grantaire comes back in eventually and sits in another chair by the window. Eponine asks him to stay as long as he wants to, because he's clearly pretty invested now, and he's also doing the important duty of manning their phones, answering all of the texts that come in and keeping everyone informed and at bay. Enjolras can't even think about dealing with that right now.

Eventually, the doctor comes back and gives the all clear. Eponine's contractions have completely stopped and everything seems normal. She isn't happy when she finds out they want her to stay in the hospital for an entire week for observation and bed rest, since she absolutely detests hospitals, but Eponine doesn't fight it. Enjolras knows she'll always do what's right for the baby. She does, however, fight him on staying with her.

As soon as the doctor and nurses leave the room, she looks at him sternly. "You are _not _staying here, Enj. It's bad enough I have to, but there's no reason you do. Go home and get some rest and just come back in the morning."

"Nope. Good try. I'm not leaving." He sits back in the chair and gets comfortable. "There's no way in hell I'm going anywhere; in fact, get used to seeing my face twenty-four hours a day because I'm not letting you out of my sight until we are in the clear and this baby is born."

Grantaire snorts from his chair by the window. "He's serious, Eponine. Good thing you're pretty fond of him."

"I guess so..." She bites her lip. "But I really, really want my own clothes. I want my comfy pajamas and fuzzy socks and my pillow. If you insist on staying, can you at least run home and get things for me?"

Enjolras frowns at the thought of not being here; what if something else happens and he doesn't make it back in time? He knows the odds are slim, but they're high enough to cause him some anxiety. "Uh...I understand why you want your stuff. But can it wait until tomorrow?"

"I can get it, Eponine," Grantaire offers helpfully. "Although I feel like I should get a cut of this baby, somehow, as fucking fairy godmother-like as I've been today. Like I should get to name her or something."

Eponine grins. "Nice try. Will you be content with her never-ending love and devotion instead? Because I'm sure that will happen."

"I guess so. Write me a list of what you need."

Eponine quickly jots down everything she wants (for now) and Grantaire leaves to go get it. As soon as he's gone, Enjolras crawls onto the bed next to her, though it's a narrow, tight fit, and rests his head against her shoulder. They took one of the monitors off her stomach, though the other is still attached, and he gently rubs her belly.

"You know he's serious about this name thing," Enjolras mutters, and closes his eyes. It's only about 7:30 pm now, but it has been an emotionally exhausting day.

"Yeah. I was actually thinking about it earlier, when you weren't here and it completely freaked me out. All I could think about was what if she's born today? She doesn't even have an identity yet because her parents were too fucking neglectful to even discuss names. She could have lived and died without a name and that's just not fair. She needs a name, Enj, even if no one knows it yet but us. I need something to call her."

Enjolras frowns. Eponine is so, so hard on herself all the time. "First of all, it's not neglectful that we haven't named her yet, Eponine. Lots of people don't name their babies until they're born. But we can absolutely talk about names if it will make you feel better. Do you have any ideas?"

She relaxes a little bit in his arms and leans her cheek against the top of his head. "Uh, well...not really. I guess that's the really pathetic part." She manages to laugh at herself at least.

"What about Charlotte?" he offers, thinking of her favorite author, Charlotte Bronte.

"I really love that name, but everyone and their brother is using it right now, and I want her to have something a little more unique."

"Okay...do we want something modern or classic?"

"Classic, definitely classic. I don't think your child could pull off a weird, modern name."

Enjolras smirks. "What, you don't want to pull a celebrity and name her after your favorite fruit?"

"No. Nor do I want to name her 'Liberty' so get that thought out of your head. I think it should be a French name since we both come from French roots and New Orleans is so rich in it."

"I can agree to that...how about we both make a list over the next few days and talk about it again before you leave the hospital?"

"Okay. Thank you for indulging me."

"I think it's a good idea. You're right, really, it will be nice to have something to call her. Especially since you're both going to be fine and absolutely nothing else is going to go wrong." Enjolras closes his eyes when he feels Eponine's hand in his hair, running it through her fingers and gently massaging his scalp. It always relaxes him.

"I know." They don't speak again for a while, until Enjolras hears his phone vibrating on the table next to the bed. He reaches over and grabs it, reluctantly climbing off the bed and adjusting his clothes. "R is in the parking lot. I'm gonna go meet him and get your stuff so he doesn't have to park a mile away."

"Okay. Can you get me chocolate from a vending machine on your way back, too?"

Enjolras leans over to quickly peck her lips and says sarcastically, "Anything else you need, your Highness? I think you're going to take advantage of the fact that you know I'll wait on you hand and foot for a while."

"I'll text you if something comes to mind."

Enjolras rolls his eyes and leaves the room to go meet R. He gets all of Eponine's stuff and remembers when he's almost back to the room that he's supposed to track down chocolate, so it's a full fifteen minutes before he finally comes back. Eponine is waiting impatiently for her pajamas and chocolate especially, and Enjolras gets a nurse to see if it's okay for her to be up and walking around a bit to change.

She gets the okay and a nurse comes to help her temporarily unhook the monitors and IVs. As she changes, Enjolras unpacks her things, and pauses when he sees a post-it floating at the bottom of the bag.

It simply reads, "My vote is for Evangeline."

Evangeline? It sounds good in his head, Enjolras thinks, so he hesitantly tries it out on his tongue, whispering the name so Eponine won't hear him from the bathroom. "Evangeline." It feels good in his mouth, too, so he adds their last name this time. "Evangeline Enjolras...Damn it, Grantaire." He scratches the back of his neck, a little bit bewildered.

He really, really likes it. He likes that it starts with an 'E' and the fact that it's origin actually comes from their French Louisiana roots. They could even call her Eva for a nickname.

"Eponine?" he calls out.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think about the name Evangeline?"

She doesn't answer for a minute, but then the bathroom door slowly opens and she looks at him quizzically. "Evangeline? Where did you get that?"

He holds up the post-it. "R's suggestion."

"Oh." She bites her lip and leans against the doorframe, her pajama t-shirt stretched tightly over her bump. One of her hands absently rubs it, and she too tries the name out loud. "Evangeline Enjolras..." Her eyes widen. "Holy shit, I really like that."

"Me, too," Enjolras admits. He's kind of flabbergasted.

"It kind of feels right, like it just fits...whoa. Jesus, Grantaire is on a roll." Eponine shakes her head and crosses the room to wrap her arms around his waist. "Oh my God, did we just name our kid? Was it really that easy?"

"I think so." He kisses her forehead. "Are you really sure you like it? I mean, we have a while to change our minds if we find we like something else better."

"I really, _really _love it," Eponine says firmly. "I don't know if I can do any better than that. I guess now we have to think of a middle name?"

"And you should get back in bed." Enjolras starts shuffling her back over to the bed and gets her tucked in. "Are you still feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I feel completely normal." She sighs and covers her face with her arm. "Ugh, I just wish this wouldn't have happened. Such a stupid accident." She finally tells him exactly what happened; that one of her kids got stuck on top of the monkey bars, freaked out, and couldn't get down. Eponine climbed up to help and when she was climbing down herself, another kid slammed into her and knocked her to the ground. Enjolras' jaw is set uncomfortably tight thinking about it, and he has to rely on the rational side of his brain to not be mad at the kid, though the emotional side privately calls him a careless little shit.

"Well, you and _Evangeline..." _he smiles when he says the name, "...aren't going back to work for at least a week, maybe longer. So you have plenty of time to rest up and things will be back to normal before we know it."

They talk for a while longer since it's still early, and though Enjolras still feels a twinge of worry just because of their environment, he's confident that everything is going to be just fine. Eponine is also on edge because she just hates hospitals in general, but she does a good job of pushing her anxiety aside and focusing on him. She eventually falls asleep and Enjolras curls up in the recliner next to the bed to try and sleep, too. It's uncomfortable, cold, and cramped, but Enjolras would rather be next to Eponine, even if they had to sleep on the floor of a cave, than by himself in the most comfortable bed in the world.

* * *

**I'm sorry it's taken me a week to update! I spoiled y'all by updating fast and then real life caught up with me this week. I still have a lot of lesson plans and other things to work on because there are some changes happening with my job, but it's also a 3 day weekend! And only 10 days total until a few days off for Thanksgiving break. :) Hopefully I will be able to get the next few chapters of this and "Breaking the Rules" cranked out ASAP.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and like the name I picked out! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

The next week drags on interminably; Eponine is irritable and bored out of her mind from being in the hospital. Everyone has gone by to try and entertain her a little bit, but they can't stay forever, and there is only so much mindless television to watch. Even though Eponine loves getting lost in a book, she tells Enjolras that right now she can't seem to concentrate enough to read to save her life. She calls it pregnancy brain.

Absolutely nothing else goes wrong. She doesn't have a single contraction beyond the norm, the baby's heartbeat is strong, and Eponine even feels her move for the first time, though Enjolras is at work when it happens and the baby doesn't kick again that she can feel.

At the end of the week, Eponine's doctor gives the okay for her to go home, but cautions her to stay mostly off her feet and taking it easy for at least a month. Even though everything looks good, she says it's better to be safe than sorry, especially until Eponine is well past twenty-five weeks. That way if she goes into labor early and the baby is born pre-mature, at least there is a very good chance of survival, though she believes Eponine will have no problem carrying the baby to full term. Bed rest for a month means Eponine is out of work, too, and after a lot of discussions with her boss about what's best for her class, they decide she should just stay out the rest of the year so the kids can have one consistent teacher for their remaining months of school. Eponine is worried she's going to get extremely bored not working, but wants what's best not only for her baby, but her students, too.

She's been home for five days now, is in week twenty-three of her pregnancy, and is already stir crazy. She has never gone this long without doing _something _her entire life, and while Enjolras deeply sympathizes, he is also not about to let her take any chances with their unborn child, and threatens to tie her to the bed or the couch if he catches her up and moving around too much. He comes home one day to find her surrounded by books on the bed, all involving childbirth. She's so engrossed in one that she doesn't hear him come in or notice him standing in the bedroom doorway.

"Hey," he finally says quietly. "Keeping yourself busy?"

She looks up, startled. "Oh, hey. I didn't even hear you come in."

"I noticed. What's finally interesting enough to keep your attention?"

"All of these books about childbirth Cosette brought me. Do you realize we are not prepared in the slightest? We have nothing _for _the baby and I haven't actually spent any time at all really thinking about her actual birth. I have no plan. That's ludicrous. I need a fucking plan!"

Enjolras sits down on the bed and kisses her temple, rubbing her back soothingly. "Okay, we need a plan then. We've got time to make one. And maybe this is just me being ignorant, but isn't the plan usually something like, hey, lets go to the hospital?"

Eponine sighs and looks at him. "I thought so. But I've been reading all of these and now that seems like the worst possible option. I mean, just the whole, 'Hey, I'm in labor, let's go to the hospital and get drugs and pop her out,' thing. I want to be prepared. I want to enjoy it."

"Enjoy being in labor?" Enjolras asks skeptically.

"Yes! You need to read these, seriously. I think there's a better way to do this, I really do. Once you read them, then we can make a plan."

Enjolras sighs, but gives in easily. If this is going to keep her busy, then it's worth it. "Okay, I'll read them. Which one do you want me to start with?"

"These." Eponine hands him three books: _The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, _and another called _The Birth Partner._ "That last one you should find incredibly helpful."

"Yeah..." Enjolras eyes the books warily and rises to place them on the nightstand on his side of the bed. "I promise I'll start them tonight, okay? I'm gonna go do the laundry now, though."

Eponine smirks and leans back against her pillows. "Aw, look. You're so domesticated. I would totally reward you with sex after, but hey. No go there." Her smirk turns into a pout. Along with the bed rest came strict instructions for no sex for a few weeks, too, just in case. Everything seems to be 'just in case' at this point.

Enjolras groans and rubs his face. "Shut up. I don't want to hear about it." It is serious torture. Ever since their first time together, they haven't gone more than a few days, at most, without making love.

Eponine laughs. "It should be easy for you. You were practically celibate before us."

He glares at her as he starts gathering all the dirty laundry together. "Yeah, and then you happened and now I don't even remember what that's like, other than the fact that it sucked."

"Believe me, it's not easy for me, either. I wasn't kidding when I said I had the best orgasms of my life while pregnant."

"Seriously, shut up. We can't talk about you having orgasms for the foreseeable future." Enjolras grabs the basket of laundry and quickly leaves the room, ignoring Eponine's fake moans of pleasure from the bed. His cock is already growing hard in response to her merciless teasing. Great – her new form of bed rest entertainment seems to be torturing him. Not so surprising, really.

He starts the laundry while thinking of the most unattractive and least arousing things he can think of and then wanders into the kitchen to try and figure out what to make for dinner. He's a horrible cook and hates doing it, however, and they haven't had take-out in a while, so he grabs the phone and just orders a pizza. As soon as he hangs up, Eponine screams his name. He jumps, the phone falling to the floor, and freezes, his heart in his throat. Something is wrong.

Enjolras makes it into the bedroom in record time, skidding to a stop next to the bed. His heart is pounding.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Oh my God, sit down and give me your hand! Hurry!"

He obediently sits next to her, his heart rate slowly returning to normal, and holds his hand out. Eponine puts it low on her stomach and off to the side a bit, covering his hand with her own. "Oh, come on! She _just _kicked and it was hard and I know you would be able to feel it."

"Oh. Fuck, you scared me when you yelled." He sighs and looks at her stomach. He can't feel anything under his hand, but he's getting used to being disappointed in this department, and starts to pull his hand away.

"No, wait! I swear, Enj, she'll move again. That was the most I've ever felt her," Eponine pouts and puts his hand back, holding it securely against her. "Just be patient."

"Okay," he relents. "What did it feel like?"

"Exactly like being kicked, but from the inside. It's wild." Eponine glares at her stomach. "Come on, kid. I know she's your daughter since she won't do what I say."

"Hey, I always do what you say," Enjolras teases. "I'm completely whipped, remember?"

"Yeah, you are." Eponine smiles and pokes at her stomach, pressing lightly on the other side. "Maybe I can make her move."

"Well don't bug her. She's nice and comfortable in there and..." He trails off as he suddenly feels very light taps against his hand, just a little succession of quick movement underneath his palm. "Holy..."

Eponine laughs, watching his reaction. "I take it you felt that?"

"Yes...oh my God, make her do it again!"

"I thought you said to leave her alone."

"Screw that, I want to feel her." Enjolras puts both hands on Eponine's stomach now and leans forward. "Come on, baby, move around some more. Kick the shit out of mommy for me."

"Nice," Eponine comments, and puts her hand on the back of his neck, playing with his hair. "You can poke at her a little bit, it doesn't hurt. I think her head is up here somewhere," Eponine says as she gestures to the other side of her stomach.

Enjolras gently presses in different places until he feels the baby kick again, and he grins like an idiot. "I'm going to be doing this to you all the time now. That's so amazing. Wow."

"It is pretty great," Eponine admits. "It's nice and reassuring now that she's alright in there, anyway." She bites her lip and sighs, then says seriously, "And this is going to sound really cheesy, but I'll say it anyway. It's kind of nice _never _being alone, even in this weird capacity. I think I might actually miss that part of being pregnant once she's born, but remind me of this conversation when I'm as big as a whale and we'll see how I feel then. Although I'm already fucking huge."

Enjolras looks up at Eponine and frowns, studying her intently. Sometimes she says things that remind him of her scars, whether she means them to or not, and it makes him incredibly sad and awed by her.

"What?" she asks after he just stares.

"You're never alone, Eponine," Enjolras says quietly. "I hope you don't really feel that way..."

"You're taking that in the wrong way, Enj," she says gently. "It's hard to explain. And no offense, but I'm not sure a man could ever totally understand because you can't carry another person inside of you. It's just the strangest feeling in the world, and...I mean, it's incredible, how attached I am to her and how much I love her. She's _constantly_ with me for these nine months and now I'm feeling her move and respond to noises and everything. It's just amazing. All I mean is that I'm going to miss that feeling once she's born."

Enjolras sits up and nods, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "I'm sure it is incredible, and you're right – I won't ever completely get it."

"It also makes me so fucking sad, though," Eponine suddenly admits. "Maybe I've just had too much time to sit and think over the last week, but...I mean, seriously...how could my mother be so shitty? How could she _do _what she did, or allow my father to hurt us so badly? I know you _never _would, but I swear to God, if you or anyone else ever tried to lay a hand on her, I would fucking tear you limb from limb. That's what mothers are _supposed _to do, protect their babies. So why did mine not give two shits about what happened to us?" She sounds genuinely baffled and incredibly sad, and Enjolras wishes he had the answers to give her.

"I don't know, babe. I don't get it, either. I don't know how your father could ever hit you or even how mine could be so distant and disinterested with me my whole life. He never did anything but work and yell at me to keep my voice down inside the house. He never raised his hand to me, but he had absolutely no interest in being a father. And I can't wait to show her the world, and take her to get ice cream and go to the zoo and give her piggy back rides...I don't know how anyone could _not _want to be with their child. It doesn't make sense."

Eponine smiles and traces the line of his jaw with her fingertips. "I really, really love you."

"I really, really love you, too."

* * *

Enjolras reads the books over the next week.

Oh, how thoroughly he reads them. And then he freaks out.

Giving birth is way, way more intense than he ever thought, which in retrospect is a ridiculous idea. Of course it's intense – Eponine is literally giving life to another human being, _their _human being, and that is pretty fucking miraculous. They have actually created a person, and he gets to watch that person leave his wife's body and take her first breaths on her own. That's the most incredible thing he's ever thought about, way more mind-blowing than Grantaire and Courfeyrac's drunken rants about the vastness of the universe and parallel universes and string theory and whatever else the two of them think about when they're intoxicated. He has absolutely no words for the feeling it gives him, the way his breath catches in his throat now when he looks at Eponine, when he feels their baby move, when he thinks about what a huge and life-altering moment in their lives their daughter's birth will be.

There are all of these different options, too, on _how _to give birth. And when he really thinks about it, it seems a bit wrong that this incredible event should be left in the hands of a doctor telling Eponine what to do and when to push and what position she needs to be in. That's so clinical, so unfeeling, so sterile. Eponine deserves way more than that and so does their child. So, after doing his research, he's totally on board with whatever plan she wants. He's always known Eponine is the strongest, kindest, craziest, most beautiful, most incredible, and most intuitive person on the planet, so there is absolutely no way she can get this wrong.

He snaps the last book shut one night and rolls over to tell her so.

She glances over at him and tosses her own book aside. "So?" she asks.

"Number one – you're fucking amazing. _That" - _he points to her stomach - "is fucking amazing. Men are wimps. I could never do it in a million years."

Eponine laughs and turns to face him. "Why thank you. I think I'm pretty awesome, too."

He kisses her, then pulls away to say seriously, "But in all honesty, Ep, I want to do whatever you do. And I'll be there to support you and help you in any way I can. So what have you been thinking?"

She screws up her face in concentration for a minute. "Well, I guess it all depends on how the rest of this goes, and if there are no more complications. But ideally, I'm pretty sure I'd like to do it naturally. No meds."

The thought scares Enjolras a little bit, he won't lie, but it's about what she wants. "Okay."

"And I guess the rest is just speculation, really, because it's going to depend on what the doctor says. I didn't ask her about any of this today at my appointment, but I will next week. But you know how I feel about hospitals. I _hate _them. They're horrible. Spending that week there was torture, even as nice as everyone was. So if it all works out, I think I'd maybe like to have her here? With a midwife and everything."

Enjolras is silent for a while. He had a feeling that was coming, because he knows Eponine, and even though it is terrifying to think about, he nods. "Okay. We can do that, if it's what you want. And if everything looks good and the doctor has no problems with it. I can handle that."

Eponine smirks and runs her hands through his hair. "Are you sure? You're not going to do that typical, cliché, movie-husband thing and pass out on me, are you?"

"Me?" He grins and moves closer, or as close as her swollen stomach will allow him to get. "I'm tough. I can handle a little bit of blood and gross stuff."

"Well, if I decide on a water birth, it won't be so gross. You should watch some on YouTube."

Enjolras makes a face and shakes his head. "No. I draw the line there. I have no problem watching you give birth, but I really don't want to see other people doing it."

"Okay," Eponine laughs. "I guess that's acceptable." She looks at him for a minute, then bites her lip and abruptly changes the subject. "Oh, by the way, I got some other news from the doctor today."

"What?"

"Since I've had absolutely zero contractions beyond the norm over the past three weeks, she said I can start moving around more starting on Monday. And..." Eponine grins wickedly and runs her hand down his chest, stopping at his waist. "...she said we can have sex. Now."

Enjolras freezes, looking at her hopefully. "If you're messing with me, I'm going to be incredibly, incredibly pissed at you."

Eponine laughs and abruptly reaches into his pants, squeezing him through his boxers. He swallows heavily and closes his eyes as she touches him, immediately beginning to grow hard as she pulls and strokes his manhood.

"At this point, I wouldn't joke about it. We're good to go, we just can't be rough. And I have to pay attention afterward and make sure nothing happens, but she thinks we're fine."

"Are you sure?"

Eponine pulls down his pants and boxers in answer and moves her hand back to his erection. "I'm sure."

Enjolras groans and lets her touch him for a few more minutes, letting his orgasm build. She's always had skilled hands. He stops her just before the point of no return and gently pushes her back against the mattress, beginning to kiss her neck. Eponine sits up after a few minutes and pulls her nightgown over her head, tossing it aside.

"Lay down," she says firmly, and Enjolras does as she says, lying flat on his back.

Eponine immediately climbs on top of him, slowly sinking down onto his erection. She gasps and leans back, resting her hands on his legs and slowly rotating her hips.

"Fuck," he grasps her hips and holds her tightly as he watches her. "I fucking missed you so much."

She doesn't answer, too busy finding a rhythm that works for her, and she moans when Enjolras reaches down and adds his fingers, slowly circling her clit with his thumb. She isn't taking all of him in, and Enjolras lets her be in control. She looks beautiful as she changes positions and leans forward, her hands on his chest. He leans up and kisses her, his hands finding her breasts and lightly ghosting over her nipples. He doesn't know what will be too much for her or what's changed in the last few weeks, and neither does she, really. She bites hard on his bottom lip as he squeezes her breast, however, and he takes that as a sign that she likes it.

After a few more minutes, Enjolras is having trouble controlling himself. His hips are thrusting up to meet hers of their own accord, though he's still trying to let her set the pace. "Eponine," he warns her quietly, "I'm..."

"Shut up," she mumbles, beginning to pick up the pace a bit. "I'm...oh, fuck." She takes his hand and puts it back on her clit. She throws her head back and moans his name, her breath ragged. The sight of her on top of him, so very pregnant and beautiful as she comes, is about all he can take. As her walls tighten around him in her own orgasm, Enjolras empties into her, all the while teasing her clit with his fingers. She screams as she comes, and Enjolras just curses. When they're both satisfied, Eponine stills and looks down at him, her cheeks red. "That was so good, oh my God."

Enjolras grins and reaches up to push her hair out of her face. "Pretty damn good. Are you okay?"

She nods and carefully moves off of him, laying back down on the bed and snuggling close with her back to his chest. "I feel fine. Great, really..."

He trails soft kisses from just underneath her ear to the curve of her shoulder, reaching around and resting one hand on her stomach. "I really, really missed you."

"Me, too." They lay there for a few more minutes in silence as their bodies calm down, and Enjolras continues to gently kiss her skin. He stops when he feels the baby moving underneath his hand and smiles against her neck. "She's moving."

"Yeah. It feels like she's doing somersaults," Eponine says softly.

"Do you still like the name Evangeline?" Enjolras asks.

"I do. I love it. I've started calling her that in my head and when I talk to her. I don't know about a middle name, though."

"Well...I kind of thought of one I like," Enjolras admits, and Eponine turns over to face him curiously.

"Really? What is it?"

"Thalia," Enjolras admits cautiously, and waits to see if Eponine realizes why. In addition to being one of the Greek Muses, Thalia is a street in New Orleans, the street where they first met their freshman year of college as they worked on rebuilding a house there for a volunteer project. Since then, it's been his favorite street in the city, even if it is in a dangerous, run-down area where they absolutely never go. He didn't realize he loved her until years later, but he's never forgotten the moment when he first saw her; she wore a ratty old ACDC t-shirt, tied at her waist, and tight black jeans streaked with dust. Her hair was pulled back in a messy pony-tail and she wore no make-up. Her right cheek was smeared with dirt and he remembered thinking she was much too petite to be able to do such hard work as build a house. She'd boldly held his gaze as he studied her and from that moment on had pretty much proved him wrong in everything he thought she could never do. Now, of course, he knew there was nothing she couldn't do.

Eponine frowns for a minute as she turns the name over in her head, and then her eyes light up as she realizes why he suggested it. "We met on Thalia Street," she says quietly. "And I never, ever, ever would have imagined what a romantic, sappy guy you'd turn out to be."

He shrugs. "Yeah, well. Just don't tell anyone."

"I'm pretty sure they know anyway. And yeah...Evangeline Thalia Enjolras. I really like it. Good job, daddy."

He grins. It's the first time she's called him that, and it feels really, really great.

* * *

**I'm sorry it's been a while since I updated this one! Hope this really sappy chapter made up for it, lol. This whole thing is really just pure, mindless fluff, isn't it?**

**Oh, well.**

**BTW, Thalia is pronounced Th (th sound, not just /t/)-al (short a)-ee-uh. I know people pronounce it in lots of different ways, but here in New Orleans, that's how we say it. Being natives, that's how Enjolras and Eponine would pronounce it.**

**Please let me know what you think! And Happy Thanksgiving! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Two weeks later, Eponine is allowed to move around again, though still cautioned to take it easy. Throughout her time on bed rest, all of their friends pitched in to try and keep her entertained, with at least one person stopping by for a few hours every day. Even his mom spent a lot of time at their house, for the first time ever; in fact, she was pretty invaluable in the cleaning department, and even taught Enjolras how to cook a few simple dishes so they didn't have to eat out all the damn time. He feels closer to her now than he has since he was a child, and wonders why he was always so hard on her when it's really his dad he has a problem with.

Now that Eponine can move around again, she is plowing full steam ahead on everything she neglected until this point, and before Enjolras knows it, she's ordered everything for the nursery and is picking out paint colors with Musichetta. He voices an opinion here and there, but for the most part, isn't really picky. All he requests, and he doesn't even really need to since Eponine isn't fond of the color either, is minimal pink. Musichetta is mostly in charge of the design, since it's what she does for a living, and he knows they're in good hands.

Eponine has just entered her third trimester and Enjolras is beginning to feel anxious. He can't wait to meet his daughter, and he knows Eponine feels the same way. He comes home on an unusually hot day in March to find her in the kitchen, wearing a light summer dress and no shoes on her feet. He grins at the sight and she pouts at him, her hands on her hips when she hears him chuckling in the doorway.

"You're so nice. You come home from work and the first thing you do is laugh at me? What?" she asks indignantly as she turns to look at him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I don't know. It's just...you're the epitome of that saying right now. 'Barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen'? You're cute."

"Oh." Eponine laughs and shrugs, leaning against the counter. "It's too fucking hot to wear shoes! You're lucky I'm wearing clothes at all, actually. I've been laying in a cold bath all day. It's miserable."

"It's only 83 out. And March 16th. You're going to really know what miserable is in two months if this is how you feel now, babe." He kisses her quickly as he crosses the room to the fridge, grabbing the pitcher of lemonade he made last night and pouring himself a glass.

"I know. By the way, everyone is coming over tonight. I feel like being sociable, but I don't really feel like leaving the house. I probably should have run that by you..."

"It's okay. It's a Friday, no big deal." He loosens his tie and unbuttons the top few buttons of his shirt. "Did you invite Marius and Cosette?"

"Yeah, they're going to come for a little while and bring the baby." Eponine grins and pokes his arm. "You, my friend, are going to learn to change a diaper tonight."

Enjolras raises his eyebrows. "Oh, no, I'm not. I will change our child's diaper and no others. No way."

"You have to learn sometime! You don't want to experiment on _our _kid, do you?"

Enjolras laughs uproariously. "But it's okay for me to experiment on Marius and Cosette's?"

"Well. She'll be okay as long as I'm there. I know what I'm doing."

"Whose diapers have _you_ changed?"

She gives him a long suffering look. "Uh, Gavroche? Who the fuck do you think kept him clothed and fed as an infant? I may have been only seven years old, but my mother certainly wasn't going to do it. It's been a while, but as far as I know, babies haven't changed."

Enjolras pauses and looks at her seriously. "I knew you took care of him, but really? All of that? Did your parents do anything?"

"They did as little as possible. But it's in the past." She shrugs and reaches up to tug on his tie, pulling his head down to hers. She kisses him hungrily, her lips dancing against his, and Enjolras forgets the lemonade and wraps his arms around her. After a minute, Eponine pulls away and smiles. "You look really hot with your tie like that."

"Why thank you. The whole barefoot and pregnant thing suits you, too." He brushes her hair back and kisses her forehead before pushing himself away from the counter. "I'm gonna change. Are we cooking or ordering out for everyone?"

"R is bringing Chinese," she calls after him. "I've been craving it."

Enjolras quickly changes his clothes and gives in to Eponine's pleas to turn the air conditioning on. It's really not _that _hot, compared to how miserable and humid New Orleans can be, but he wants her to be comfortable. She finally stops complaining after she sits in front of a fan and a cool air vent, and Enjolras rummages around in the top of the closet for the games they always play every time everyone comes over. With a start, he realizes that these game nights will probably become the norm now that _two _couples from their little group are parents. The norm used to be late nights at their favorite bars, not that Enjolras ever drank much. Eponine, however, can put some alcohol away. He has a feeling those days are over.

Around 5:30, Marius and Cosette show up with their daughter, Cecilia. As soon as Cosette sees Eponine, she exclaims loudly, "Oh my God, I fucking hate you."

Eponine laughs and raises her eyebrows. "Uh...hi? It's nice to see you, too."

"Seriously. Look at you! You're freaking gorgeous! I was a nasty, puffy mess by this point. You're just all belly!" Cosette hugs her and Eponine makes a face.

"Well, thanks, but believe me, I feel kind of like a mess, especially today. Not as bad as I thought I would, but hell, there's still eleven or twelve weeks to go."

"You look great, Ep," Marius says, and hands her the baby. "And here! Practice."

Eponine takes the baby from Marius and becomes absorbed in a conversation with Cosette about breast feeding, which he and Marius completely tune out. They're saved from that awkwardness when everyone else eventually arrives, and Enjolras busies himself getting a plate of Chinese ready for Eponine. He's met with a chorus of "awws" when he puts it in front of her, and rolls his eyes.

"Aw, look at that," Courfeyrac says teasingly. "He's waiting on her hand and foot. Where's my food, Enj? And I'd like a beer, too, while you're at it."

Enjolras just snorts and sits down next to Eponine at the table with his own food. "Listen, Courf, the next time you happen to be carrying my child, let me know and I'll wait on you, too."

Eponine grins and sticks her tongue out at Courfeyrac. "And he just likes me more than he likes you."

"That's true, too," Enjolras agrees, and ducks when Courfeyrac throws an eggroll at him in mock indignation.

"Don't waste the eggrolls, asshole!" Eponine exclaims vehemently. "I have wanted these all week, and I swear to God, I will cut you if I don't get everything I want!"

Courfeyrac innocently holds up his hands. "Okay, okay. I promise I'll play nice."

They eat their fill of Chinese and then play a round of Cards Against Humanity, but the real entertainment starts when Courfeyrac and Bahorel decide to have a Just Dance-off with the Wii. Everyone is practically rolling on the floor by the time they're done dancing to "Call Me, Maybe" and Eponine tells them they have to stop for a few minutes or she's going to pee everywhere.

"Oh my God..." She leans back against the couch and wipes tears of laughter from her eyes. "That was amazing. Apparently the baby thinks so, too, because she's moving like crazy and jabbing me right in the ribs." Eponine rubs her belly and winces.

Musichetta squeals and claps her hands. "Cosette never let me feel her belly! Can I touch?"

Eponine nods, but sighs in exasperation. "Yes...I guess I don't mind you doing it, but I swear to God, if one more stranger touches me without permission, I might murder someone."

"It's the worst, isn't it?" Cosette sympathizes. "Whenever I was in the grocery store, I thought I had to be wearing a big neon sign that just said, 'Feel free to touch me.' People have no boundaries when you're pregnant."

Musichetta lets out an excited laugh as she feels the baby kick and gives Joly a significant look that no one misses. "Aw, I can't wait to feel what that's like one day. It seems so amazing."

Joly clears his throat uncomfortably and immediately launches into medical talk, his go-to topic when he's uncomfortable. "You're what? 28 weeks, Eponine? Did you know she has eyelashes now? And probably weighs at least a little over two pounds. You really don't have much longer to go..."

Musichetta frowns. "I think she stopped moving. Maybe she wants you guys to dance again, she seemed to like that."

"I think I'm danced out." Bahorel sprawls on the floor.

Eponine grins and looks at Enjolras, and somehow, he knows he's about to be embarrassed.

"Or maybe she just wants her daddy to talk to her. Or _sing. _She always starts moving when she hears him."

Grantaire's eyes widen and he points an accusing finger at Enjolras. "I _told _you you'd turn into the biggest sap known to man! I called that the moment we found out Eponine was pregnant. Oh my God! You _sing _to your unborn child?"

"That's incredibly sweet," Combeferre says in his defense, and Enjolras appreciates the support.

He's pretty sure he's as red as a tomato now, but he says defensively, "Oh, come on. You'd do it, too, if it was your kid. It's...well, it's _cool, _how she responds to my voice and starts moving around."

"I kind of want to feel," Courfeyrac says unexpectedly, and eyes Eponine with some trepidation, like she might slap him for even suggesting it. "Can I...?"

Eponine laughs and shrugs. "I guess...she's not moving much right now, though." Courfeyrac eagerly plops down on the couch next to her and puts his hand on her stomach.

"Weird. Your bump is like...hard. It's not squishy."

Eponine raises her eyebrows. "That's the weirdest thing you've ever said. Of course it's not squishy, there's a human being inside of me, not a gummy bear."

Grantaire suddenly adds his hand to her stomach and Enjolras just watches in amusement. And they call him a sap. "How do you get her to move?"

"They were never this interested in our kid," Marius pouts to Cosette, but she just smiles and rolls her eyes, gently rocking Cecilia to sleep.

"I can't _make _her move," Eponine says. "Sometimes if I press around, she will, though...I can try if you seriously care that much."

"Well now I'm curious." Courfeyrac looks at her eagerly, so Eponine starts pressing on the top of her stomach.

"Whoa!" Grantaire suddenly exclaims. "She totally kicked me!"

"That is wild. Enjolras, have you _felt _this?" Courfeyrac asks in amazement.

Enjolras rolls his eyes, but smiles, a bit surprised at his friends antics. They're strangely interested in this baby, which he guesses is a good thing. "Of course I've felt it."

"Have you picked out a name yet?" Bossuet asks curiously.

"Well, actually..." Eponine looks at Enjolras questioningly and he nods. They decided earlier to share the name tonight, and he thinks she should have the honors. "We do finally have a name picked out. First and middle."

Grantaire immediately sits up, and it's clear he's trying to look nonchalant as he moves to the floor in front of the couch.

"R picked her first name out, actually," Enjolras says quietly.

Grantaire's eyes widen as he turns his head to look at him. "Seriously? You're using it?"

Courfeyrac echoes Grantaire, looking shocked. "Seriously? This dope named your child?" Grantaire reaches over and smacks the back of Courfeyrac's head, glaring.

"He did. We're going to name her Evangeline Thalia. I don't know where Evangeline is from, but Enj thought of Thalia."

Combeferre laughs and cocks his head, thinking. "Didn't you meet on Thalia Street? I was there, too."

Enjolras blushes at being found out and just nods. He turns back to look at Grantaire and asks curiously, "How did you come up with Evangeline?"

Grantaire is smiling widely, clearly pleased that he is playing a part in such a monumental event. And a big part, too; names are one of the most important factors in shaping a person's identity. "It was my grandmother's name, actually. I was really close to her growing up and I always thought it was pretty. And God knows I'll never have a child to use it on. That's awesome, guys, seriously. I didn't really expect you to like it. Thanks."

"I'm glad you suggested it," Eponine sats gratefully. "We knew as soon as we saw it. It just feels right."

"It's a really beautiful," Musichetta agrees. "Very New Orleans, too. I'll have to incorporate her initials into the nursery design."

"Cecilia and Evangeline – we picked classy names for our kids. I hope the rest of you doofuses don't screw up that trend," Cosette teases. "Are you guys going to use a nickname?"

"Probably," Eponine muses. "We haven't really talked about that, but I like Eva. Either is fine to me, really."

Enjolras nods in agreement, and lapses into silence again as another round of Just Dance soon gets going, this time between Bossuet and Joly. (Marius discreetly starts moving breakable objects out of Bossuet's vicinity as soon as the song begins, which is a good thing cosidering he trips over the coffee table halfway through and almost cracks his head open.) Eponine is still too busy laughing to even notice.

Marius and Cosette leave fairly soon after that because of the baby, but everyone else continues to hang around. After a few more songs and another epic fall on the part of Bossuet (while trying to twirl), Eponine struggles off the couch to go use the bathroom.

While she's gone, Enjolras hears her cell phone ring from the other room, but doesn't really pay any attention when he hears her answer. She appears in the bedroom doorway a few minutes later and immediately meets his eyes. She is pale, her face drawn, and he can clearly see the anxiety written all over her. He stands immediately after she inclines her head for him to follow her into the bedroom. No one else even notices their absence.

"Are you alright?" he asks as he closes the bedroom door. "Who was that on the phone?"

"I'm fine, it's nothing to do with me or the baby or anything," she reassures him. "But, Enj...that was your mom."

"Okay?" He's confused; why does she look so shaken and upset?

"Babe..." She reaches out and softly touches his arm, her eyes studying him closely. "I...Shit. I don't..."

"Eponine, you're scaring me." He gently takes her arms and squeezes. "What's going on? Just say it." He has no idea what could be making her so upset.

She looks up at him, her eyes wide with something akin to fear, and says quietly, "Enj, your dad...he died tonight. Your mom found him in his study. He had a heart attack."

Enjolras stares at her, uncomprehending, for several moments before his hands drop heavily to his sides. "What?"

Eponine opens her mouth, but quickly closes it again, obviously not knowing what to say. His relationship with his dad is so complicated, so volatile...

His mind feels like it's moving in slow motion. Enjolras knows exactly what she said – the words make perfect sense; however, it suddenly feels like he's not even in his body, like he's watching this happen to someone else.

Eponine reaches up and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her. "Enj? Baby, say something."

"I...I don't know what to say." His arms stay stubbornly by his sides, though some part of him registers that he wants to put them around her, and should. They just won't move. How did this happen? Why does he even care? _Does_ he care?

He hates his dad. Hated? Does he have to use past tense now every time he thinks about him?

When was the last time they even talked? Enjolras honestly doesn't remember.

Eponine pulls away a little bit to look at him, her eyes filled with worry. He's suddenly angry; this isn't a good thing to happen now, not for her. She's going to kill herself worrying about him, and God knows that kind of anxiety isn't good for the baby. Of course, his dad would pick the worst possible time to die.

Is there a _good _time to die?

"I'm gonna go get rid of everyone," Eponine says quietly. "You should call your mom when you feel up to it, okay? Sit down." She leads him to the bed and he sits automatically, robotically. He doesn't even realize when she's left the room.

He had a dad.

He used to have a dad.

His dad is dead.

Enjolras vaguely registers that this seems to hurt an awful lot for someone who always claimed to not even like their father, but no tears come. His chest is tight with emotion, but at the same time, he's incredibly numb. Inside, there's turmoil. Outside, there's calm. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and stares at the screen. He _should _call his mom. It's what a good son would do.

He's not a very good son, though, because the thought of hearing his mom's voice right now and facing this makes him want to scream. Not wanting to even look at it, Enjolras throws his phone behind him on the bed.

A car door slams outside and he hears his friends voices as they leave, sounding concerned and hushed. Once everyone is gone, Eponine comes back into the bedroom and sits next to him, one hand absently rubbing her bump, and the other finding his hand and squeezing. She doesn't ask how he is, because she knows him too well, and Enjolras is silent.

Finally, she says quietly, "Do you want me to get you anything?"

He shakes his head slowly and finally turns to look at her. His voice sounds surprisingly, incredibly normal once he figures out how to use it again. "How did my mom sound?"

"Pretty hysterical," Eponine admits quietly. "She said your aunt is there with her, and her friend, Susan. So she isn't alone. She said we should stay home tonight, but we should probably go there tomorrow morning."

Enjolras makes a face unconsciously and Eponine frowns. "Enj, I know...I mean, I know your dad isn't your favorite person, but things have been so much better with your mom. She needs you right now."

Enjolras feels a quick burst of anger and sucks in a breath. "Yeah, well. I don't...Fuck! I don't want to deal with this right now. We've got enough to worry and think about. This kind of stress isn't good for you."

Eponine turns to face him, soothingly rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. "I'm fine. Completely fine. You know I'll just worry about you."

"Well don't, Ep. I'm fine, too. It's not like this will really change my life, when you think about it," he insists. "We lived in the same city and never saw each other. It's not like he was really much of a dad, and he didn't seem to have an interest in being a grandpa, either. So whatever." He shrugs.

Though his words should be true, they somehow feel and sound hollow, but he isn't going to analyze why. His dad doesn't deserve his time like that.

Eponine nods slowly and sighs, turning her head to look out the bedroom window. After a minute she says slowly, "Okay...so, I can tell that you're going to need to process this on your own terms. I promise I won't push you, and if I'm annoying you or being overbearing, just tell me, alright? I just want to help."

"You do help me," he says quietly. "You always do." Enjolras raises her hand and presses his lips firmly to her knuckles. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Eponine stands and kisses the top of his head. "I'm going to go clean up a little bit. Nope! Don't say anything." She puts her hand over his mouth as he starts to protest. "I'm pregnant, not sick. I can handle loading a dishwasher just fine. You just sit here and try to process this a little bit, okay?"

He finally nods, and Eponine goes back to the living room, leaving him alone. Everything is too quiet; he can barely hear Eponine and the street outside is still. He can't stand it, so Enjolras gets up and starts getting ready for bed, brushing his teeth in the bathroom and changing into a soft t-shirt and just his boxers. Even though he hates having a TV in the bedroom, there's one there now for the days when Eponine didn't want to move to the couch, so he turns it on just for the noise when he climbs into bed. He doesn't really hear it, though, and just watches blankly.

After a little while, Eponine slips into bed next to him, already in her pajamas, and Enjolras realizes he completely missed her coming into the bedroom and getting ready for bed. He's in a daze, which is completely unexpected. Really, though, it's not like he ever thought about how he would react upon his dad's death, so it can't be that unexpected that he feels this way. How does he feel?

He wraps his arm around her shoulders and she curls into his side, resting her head on his shoulder as they sit up in bed. "I'm sorry, Enj," she says, and softly kisses his jaw.

He just nods and rests his head against hers. He finally says quietly, "I just...obviously, it's unexpected. But it _sucks. _I didn't like him, but, fuck. He was still my dad."

"I know. Even though I haven't spoken to them in years and they were horrible, horrible parents, I would still be upset if something happened to one of mine," Eponine reassured him. "It's okay to feel sad. I understand."

"I don't know how I feel."

Eponine reaches over and turns out the light, then switches the TV off. "Come on, lay down and try to sleep. Everything always looks different in the morning."

Enjolras fixes his pillows and lays down next to her, closing his eyes as he feels her hands in his hair. This always relaxes him, the feel of her massaging his scalp and her fingers twisting around his curls. He scoots lower and wraps himself around her, snuggling his head against her chest. He falls asleep like this, and though Eponine is always a comfort, he still doesn't feel like himself.

* * *

**I guess I'm just going to go through little bursts of writing for both of these stories, haha. Now I'm going pretty good with this one and _Breaking the Rules _is kind of just sitting there waiting for me to figure out how to write the next chapter. **

**Hope you enjoyed this update, and the bigger role Les Amis played in it. I know the ending was a bit unexpected, but it will be kind of interesting to have Enjolras work through his feelings about losing his own father while about to become one himself. Please let me know what you think! (And Happy Thanksgiving, U.S. people. Again...didn't think I'd update again before tomorrow, but this chapter came quickly!)**


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Enjolras wakes with the same feeling of emptiness in his chest as when he'd fallen asleep. It doesn't take him long to name it; it isn't sorrow or grief, but just the feeling of loss. Lost opportunities, lost experiences, and a lost relationship. He tells himself that it could be worse. It could have been his mom, which would have been a real tragedy considering their recently rekindled relationship. It could have been any of his friends, which would be beyond devastating. It could have been Eponine, or the baby, which is just unthinkable. So, really, he is lucky. It's just his dad, the most disposable of all the people in his life. He knows that's a horrible thing to think, but it is the truth.

They both wake up early and prepare to go to his childhood home to help his mom. There will be a funeral to plan, rooms to clean out (though maybe it's still early for that), and relatives to greet. In other words, days of torture.

Eponine seems to know what he's thinking and eyes him in the bathroom mirror as he brushes his teeth. "I know it won't be easy, but you need to remember to smile today. Try and at least act like you're happy to see your family."

He sighs and nods shortly. "And act appropriately devastated at the same time, I guess," he adds after he rinses out his mouth.

Eponine shrugs. "I don't know. Don't lay that on too thick or they'll know you're lying. Your mom will, at least. She's under no illusions about how you feel about your dad."

A thought suddenly occurs to him. "Do you think he had a will?"

"He was a lawyer; I'm sure there's one."

"You're probably right. I hope he set my mom up to live comfortably; she's never worked a day in her life." Enjolras rolls his eyes at this. "I know that's ridiculous, but I doubt it's something she could get used to doing at fifty-five years old."

"I can't even comprehend that," Eponine says quietly, and grabs her hair straightener. She's clearly putting in extra effort to look nice today.

"I know. Basically, I just hope we don't find a mountain of unexpected debt."

"That would be nice."

He kisses her cheek quickly and leaves the bathroom to go put a few Poptarts in the toaster, pouring himself his usual cup of black coffee. They eat a quick breakfast and leave the house, and the closer they get to Third Street in the Garden District, where he grew up, the more fidgety Eponine gets.

"You okay?"

"Yeah...every time we come here, I just get nervous. Your house is just...I mean, Jesus. It's enormous. It's practically a palace."

"It's not _my _house," Enjolras reminds her. "It's just where I grew up. It's an enormous waste of space, is what it is. No one needs that much space or that many rooms."

"It's still beautiful, though," Eponine says as they pull up in front of the house. It is incredibly beautiful, Enjolras has to admit, with a tall iron fence encircling the whole property, which sits on the corner of Third and Coliseum in the Garden District. It's one of the biggest houses in the neighborhood, though they are _all _enormous antebellum mansions. The Enjolras house, however, has the honor of also having a huge lot and yard, which is fairly unusual in the city. The front is in the popular Greek revival style of the time it was built, but there are the familiar iron balconies of the Quarter on each side of the house. He doesn't even know how many bedrooms there are inside – too many to count, certainly, and way too many for any practical use. Most of the house is shut up, considering only his parents live there. Well, just his mother now...certainly, he'll be able to convince her to move? There's way too much space for just one person.

He enters the gate code to the security system and they go up the front walk, his hand resting low on Eponine's back to guide her. He rings the doorbell somewhat formally since he hasn't really felt welcome here in years and his aunt, Georgia, answers the door.

"Gabriel! Oh, it's so good to see you!" She immediately envelops him in a hug and he winces, awkwardly patting her back. "I do wish it was for a happier occasion, though. You look wonderful! So handsome."

"Thanks, Aunt Georgia...this is my wife, Eponine."

His aunt gasps as she pulls away and moves to Eponine, giving her a quick hug before immediately putting both of her hands on Eponine's belly. Eponine's jaw tightens in annoyance at being touched without permission, but she plasters a smile on.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Eponine! You'd think we live three hundred miles away instead of in the same city, considering we've never met before! But you two, with that small wedding, not letting us celebrate! Shame on you!" She turns to glare at him, but quickly smiles again and looks back at Eponine. "And just look at you, honey! Oh, you're about ready to pop, aren't you? Look at that belly!"

Eponine laughs uneasily. "Well, not really. She's not due until the middle of June."

"Really?" Aunt Georgia looks at her incredulously, and Enjolras quickly takes Eponine's hand and leads her inside.

"How's my mom?" He changes the subject before Eponine can throw a punch at basically being called fat, and she squeezes his hand gratefully.

"She's doing well, all things considered," his aunt says thoughtfully. "You two go on into the living room, and I'll tell her you're here."

Enjolras leads Eponine through the foyer and into the formal living room, which is filled with antiques and expensive paintings. Eponine eyes everything disdainfully. "If you sold everything in this room, it would feed my students and their families for weeks. That's absolutely shameful."

Enjolras nods in agreement and sits down on the sofa, still holding on to her hand. His palms are sweaty, a side effect of just being back in this house that holds so many unpleasant memories for him. As beautiful as it is, he never felt anything but cold here.

After a few minutes, his mother enters the room, and for the first time in his life, he sees her looking less than perfect. There are dark circles under her eyes, and though her hair is combed and clean, it is pulled back into a simple pony-tail instead of her usual curls or elegant up-do. She wears no make-up, and he finally sees her age on her face. Of course, though, there are no streaks of gray in her light brown hair. She would never allow that to happen.

He rises and hugs her silently, not really knowing what to say. She hugs Eponine next and kisses her cheek, smiling at her warmly. "Thank you for coming, Eponine. I know it's a hassle in these last few months to even leave the house if you don't have to."

"It's no trouble, Anne-Marie, I still feel great. I'm so sorry for your loss."

Tears unexpectedly appear in his mother's eyes and Enjolras looks away awkwardly. Honestly, he didn't even know whether or not his mom loved his dad. They didn't really interact much when he was growing up.

"Thank you." She sits on the sofa across from them and rests her chin in her hand, looking closely at Enjolras. "How are you, Gabriel?"

He shrugs and clears his throat, about to lie and say he's fine. What comes out instead is, "I don't know."

His mother nods with understanding and looks out the window. "I can't believe this happened. He's never had a health problem in his life. How quickly things can change..."

"And it was a heart attack?"

His mother looks back at him and nods. "Yes – a massive one, the doctor said. He didn't suffer. The doctor said even if I had been standing next to him and able to immediately call 911, he probably couldn't have been saved. So, that's a comfort, I guess."

"What do you need help with?" Eponine asks softly. "We're here to do whatever you need us to."

"Oh, dear, thank you. I appreciate that, I really do. But you two have enough on your plates right now getting ready for that baby. We already called and arranged the funeral this morning – it's the day after tomorrow. I really just want you to be there."

"Of course," Eponine answers for him. "Are you sure we can't do anything else?"

"Well..." Enjolras meets his mom's eyes and knows a request for him is coming. "I could go through his study myself, but I really have no idea what is and isn't important. I know he kept a lot of his work there. Since you're familiar with that kind of thing, Gabriel, can you maybe take it upon yourself to clean out his office? Just of the paperwork and whatnot. I can take care of everything else."

"Sure." It won't be that bad, just old case files and impersonal notes. He can handle that. "Mom, what are you going to do with this house?" he asks curiously.

She smiles and leans back against the couch. "Well...funny you should ask that. I can't sell it because it doesn't belong to me. It never has."

"What do you mean?"

"A few years ago, your father and I decided that upon his death, this house would go straight to you. It's much too big for just one person to live in, and I don't want to be here without your father. I'll find a nice condo that I can manage on my own."

He sees Eponine's mouth fall open. He feels a bit shocked himself. "Uh...so this house is ours?"

His mother nods and sighs wistfully. "Yes. I'll miss it, but it's much more suited to your needs now. And it will be a wonderful place to fill with lots of babies."

Eponine snaps her mouth shut and Enjolras can see how uneasy she is. He doesn't know what to think. They talk for a few more minutes and eventually his Aunt Georgia comes back into the room. They have an early lunch, but since there's really not much else for them to do to help, head back home in the afternoon.

Eponine is silent as they pull away from the curb, looking out the window at the house. Enjolras glances at her. "What do you think?"

"I don't want to live there," she says bluntly. "That place...that kind of opulence and waste, that's just not me. I can't live somewhere like that. We could have ten kids and still have more than enough space and that's just ridiculous."

Enjolras sighs in relief and reaches over to squeeze her leg in reassurance. "Good. I was hoping you'd say that. I'd rather live _anywhere _but in that house. It may be beautiful, but it holds nothing but bad memories for me. And you're right – it's way too wasteful."

Eponine smiles and leans over the console to kiss his cheek. "And that's why I love you."

"We could sell it, though."

"Yeah...maybe we'd have enough to start a college fund for her." Eponine rubs her belly and Enjolras smiles slowly. She's so totally clueless.

"Ep...if we sell that house, we'd have enough to send her to college, plus those ten other kids. And buy another house of our own. We've already got a huge down payment saved, anyway, I've been putting money away for that for years. I'm not exactly making chump change at work, you know."

Eponine turns to look at him, her eyes wide. "Seriously?"

Enjolras nods. "That's a multi-million dollar house, Eponine. All of those are, in the Garden District. And that house has an enormous lot and a huge pool. I can't say exactly how much, but I'm sure it's worth way over two million."

"Holy shit!"

Enjolras pulls into their driveway and unbuckles his seatbelt, turning in his seat to face her. "I was going to bring it up in a few months once we settled in with the baby and everything, but there's no reason to wait now. Do you want to buy a house?"

Eponine looks at him for a moment and then suddenly bursts into tears, covering her face with her hands.

"Uh...was that the wrong thing to ask? I'm sorry! We don't have to..." He gets out of the car and goes around to her side, opening her door and helping her out of the car. He wraps his arms around her shoulders and kisses her temple. "Are you alright?"

"Yes! Oh my God, Enj...I just...I've never had a home. _This _is home, but at the same time it's not because we've just been renting it, but it's the closest I've ever had. I don't know why I didn't think or realize that we could actually buy something." She wipes her eyes and laughs at herself. "I'm sorry. Hormones. I feel crazy. I don't cry."

"Apparently you do now," Enjolras points out, and takes her hand before leading her into the house.

"Do you think your mom will be mad if we sell the house?"

"Probably," he answers honestly. "But she's not us, and we need to do what's best for our family."

Eponine smiles slowly and hugs her stomach. "We have a family. Oh my God, what's next, a dog?"

"I draw the line at pets."

* * *

The viewing and funeral is torture. Enjolras pretends to be sad for all of the friends and family that show up (and damn, there are a lot of them), and forces himself to make suitable small talk. The women in his family have taken Eponine under their wing, but she doesn't exactly seem happy about it. Random strangers keep touching her stomach and saying how wonderful she looks, and then asking all sorts of personal questions about how often she has to pee, or whether or not she's craving this or that, or sleeping in this position at night. He keeps sending her encouraging smiles from across the room, but he can tell she'd like nothing more than to get the hell out of there.

During the actual funeral, she sits next to him and he grips her hand tightly. Not for the first time, an unexpected sadness rises in his chest, but Enjolras firmly ignores it and looks anywhere but at the open coffin. There's no reason to be sad.

His dad is buried in Lafayette Cemetery, only a few blocks away from their home in the Garden District. The ground is uneven from the roots of huge oak trees pushing up the sidewalk, and he keeps a firm hold on Eponine as they walk behind the procession to keep her from tripping. "It's really hard to walk on this sidewalk when you can't see your effing feet," she whispers, and Enjolras stifles a laugh.

"I can imagine."

They don't linger too long at the cemetery, and soon everyone is back at his mom's house. There is enough food laid out on the buffet in the formal dining room to feed an army and relatives, friends, and co-workers of his dad's crowd in. It is a typical Southern funeral – no one stays sad for very long, even though the circumstances of his dad's passing were sudden and tragic. Enjolras stays close to Eponine, not wanting to leave her alone to deal with his over-bearing aunts, great-aunts, and cousins by herself. He fixes them both plates and sits at the table next to Eponine and his mom. One of his aunts wastes no time.

"It's such a shame, Gabriel, that your dad won't be around to give you parenting advice! Or meet his granddaughter."

Enjolras makes some sort of strangled noise he hopes they take for agreement and bites back a sarcastic comment.

"Are your parents excited, Eponine?" Aunt Georgia asks.

Eponine glances at him and says slowly, "No...I'm not really in touch with my parents. As far as I know, they don't know about the baby."

Aunt Georgia looks shocked. "What?! That's awful! Oh, you poor thing!"

Eponine quickly shakes her head. "Oh, no. No, no, no. We're better off without them, believe me."

Enjolras nods in agreement and tries to change the subject. "So when are you guys heading home?" He directs the question to his Aunt Elaine, who lives in Texas.

"Oh, probably the day after tomorrow." She immediately turns to Eponine and asks, "So, dear, what hospital are you going to have her at? I really hope you don't say Touro. They were awful when my daughter had her baby."

Enjolras feels a headache coming on and sighs, rubbing his forehead. He hates being grilled like this.

"Well, actually, I'm going to have her at home," Eponine says with a forced brightness.

Several heads turn to look at her like she's absolutely crazy.

"Eponine, why in the world would you ever want to do that?!" Aunt Georgia asks. "It's not the year 1900 anymore!"

Enjolras jumps in and says firmly, "We've thought about it a lot and done quite a bit of research. We think this is the best option for us." He hopes that will end the conversation, but no such luck.

"But...can you get an epidural at home?" His cousin, Lauren, asks. "That epidural saved my life with my two!"

"No, I'm going to have her naturally. I think giving birth should be special, and I don't want to be on a time limit. I don't want any drugs to speed things up or anything like that. I've never liked hospitals, anyway, and I do a lot of yoga, so I guess it's time to put some of those deep breathing exercises to use."

Everyone is looking at Eponine like she's grown two heads and Enjolras is about to snap when his mother says quietly, "Oh, honestly, all of you. I think it's commendable. People these days rely too much on technology and medication and forget that women were giving birth naturally for thousands of years. Unless there's a serious risk, I think it's a wonderful thing to do. And it's perfectly safe; do some research before you criticize their decision."

Enjolras is shocked. "Wow. Thanks, mom."

Eponine gives her a grateful and genuine smile. "Thank you, Anne Marie. I know it's going to be hard, but I think it's the best thing for both me and the baby."

"Well...to each his own, I suppose," Aunt Georgia says slowly. "Maybe we're all just jealous that you're braver than us!"

Enjolras smiles a bit smugly and reaches over to rub Eponine's shoulders. "She is brave. You have no idea."

"Are you excited to become a father, Gabriel?"

"Yeah, absolutely. I can't wait to meet her."

"Still, such a shame that your dad won't be around. I'm sure you'll miss him."

_If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all_, Enjolras thinks, and simply nods. He doesn't want to shock everyone again by admitting his true feelings about his dad.

The next few hours continue in much the same fashion, with everyone screeching his first name too loudly, sharing opinions that he doesn't want to hear, and telling stories about a man that Enjolras feels like he didn't know at all. His dad's co-workers have nothing but nice things to say, about his dad's generosity and willingness to help others, and Enjolras is left with nothing but confusion. He doesn't know that man. The only one Enjolras knows is the guy who shut himself up in his office all the time, missed his high school graduation, and shot down every idea he ever had that differed from his own. He only remembers the typical Southern, conservative Republican who looked absolutely shocked the first time he dared to contradict an opinion at the dinner table, earning him the title of "you God-damn Democrat." Eventually, that extended to, "you're not even a Democrat, you're just a fucking radical." That's the only dad he knows, the one unwilling to even listen to another's opinion, and absolutely unwavering in his own.

Around two o'clock, Eponine starts yawning, and Enjolras uses it as an excuse to get out of there as fast as he can. He promises his mom that he'll come back in a few days to start on his dad's study and they leave.

Eponine looks at him curiously on the drive home. "Are you sad at all? You've seemed so stoic. You always are, but I hope you're not just keeping it all inside."

Enjolras shrugs. "I'm fine. There's nothing I can do about it. And nothing would have changed between us even if he'd lived another thirty years."

"I don't know," Eponine says thoughtfully. "Your mom has really come around. I know your opinion of her has changed. Maybe your dad would have changed, too. Babies tend to bring people together."

"Why are you even talking like this? What's the point?" He goes from calm to angry in about half a second and clutches the steering wheel with more force than necessary. Whoa. Maybe he isn't quite okay, but he's not about to admit it out loud.

"I'm just wondering if you're more upset than you're letting on. I want you to talk about it."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Maybe there is. I'm on to something here; look at your knuckles. You're gripping that wheel so tight that they're white."

"Eponine, I'm not talking about this. I'm fine. Everything is fine."

"Mmhmm." She doesn't say anything else and turns her head to look out the window. God, he _hates it _when she does this kind of thing, when she acts as if she knows him so well and as if he's lying to himself. She's so damn smug when she does it, too, and that's why he gets so annoyed. It's not because what she says is correct, like she thinks it is. Not at all.

* * *

Two days later, he is back at his mom's house to clean out the study. He breaks it to her gently that he and Eponine don't want to live there, and she takes the news better than he expects. She is sad that the house will no longer be in the family, but resigned. "It's you, Gabriel; I should have known you would want a more modest home."

Still, he feels a little guilty as he closes the study door, and just stands there looking around for several minutes. He's trying to picture himself doing work in this room, but the only thing he sees is his dad behind the massive desk. There's no way he and Eponine can make a home here. It just feels all wrong for them and for the life they're continuing to build together.

With a sigh, Enjolras sits down in his dad's desk chair. He's startled to immediately see several framed photos of himself sitting on top of the desk, one dating all the way back to maybe second or third grade. There's also one from his college graduation, and most surprisingly, a photograph of he and Eponine at their wedding. Tucked into the side of that frame is the small sonogram picture he gave his mom. His father kept their sonogram picture in plain sight on his desk...

Enjolras blinks rapidly, surprised. His dad never seemed like the sentimental type, and the last he checked, they kind of disliked each other. So why in the world does he have his pictures on his desk? He sighs and rubs his eyes. God, emotions. Unless they involve Eponine, he really doesn't know how to deal with them. (And it took him long enough to even process that kind in the first place, too.)

He turns those annoying emotions off and opens up a desk drawer. He has to start somewhere. He's relieved to find that everything is impeccably organized, which doesn't come as a big surprise, and he soon has three piles going in different corners of the room – one pile to go back to his dad's firm, one pile to be recycled, and one pile of personal things for his mom to keep. That is the smallest pile by far. It is a complete surprise, then, when he opens one of the massive cabinets built into the wall and sees boxes and boxes filled with things from his childhood. Every report card he ever got is organized chronologically, along with other schoolwork dating all the way back to kindergarten. There are art projects, alphabet worksheets, and essays all the way up through his senior year of high school. His chest feels tight again and he sits heavily down on the floor, rifling through the box.

The existence of this box and these relics from his childhood is amazing. He even remembers doing some of this work back in elementary school. He takes the whole box and puts it by the door to take home with him. Eponine will probably get a kick out of some of this.

He pulls out his phone and texts her when he looks around the room and realizes that this is taking much, much longer than he thought it would, and at this point, he just wants to stay and finish, even though it's already 5:30 in the evening.

_Hey – you alright? I'm nowhere near done, but I just want to finish today. Do you need me?_

_ I'm good here. Stay as long as you need to._

_ Are you sure? If you need something, call one of the guys. They'll run over there._

_ Enj, I'm pregnant, not sick. I don't need a babysitter. Everything is good here, take as long as you need._

_ Okay. I'll grab something to eat here and I'll be home later._

At the mention of food, his stomach rumbles, so Enjolras stands, stretches, and wanders out of the study and into the kitchen. His mom is at the table on her laptop, but looks up when he enters.

"How's it coming?"

"Pretty well. There's a lot more to do, though. I'm just going to stay and get it all done and boxed up tonight."

"Okay. Do you want a sandwich? I can make you one."

Enjolras smiles and opens up the fridge. "You don't have to wait on me, mom."

The fridge snaps shut and Enjolras takes a step back. His mom is now standing next to him, her arms crossed stubbornly. "Nonsense. I never get to do things for you anymore. Sit down."

Enjolras shrugs and takes a seat at the little breakfast table, watching as his mom pulls out her gourmet bakery bread and cheese. Of course. Well, at least it will be a good sandwich.

He clears his throat and says tentatively, "So...I noticed dad had a bunch of pictures of me on his desk. And all of this crap from my childhood saved in a box."

"Of course he did. He was very proud of you. He just wasn't very good at showing it, and you were always so antagonistic towards him that he was afraid of trying to talk to you."

She says it so matter-of-factly. _You were always so antagonistic._

"I didn't antagonize him," Enjolras says, affronted. "At least not on purpose."

His mom stops and looks at him, raising her eyebrows. "Yeah. Sure. Not at all."

Enjolras is silent and stubbornly sets his jaw, looking down at the table. His mom puts his sandwich down in front of him in a minute and then sits back down in front of her laptop. "Now don't be mad at me, Gabriel. He did plenty of antagonizing, too. Really, both of you were a lot alike."

"I'm nothing like him," Enjolras insists. "We didn't agree on anything."

"You don't have to have the same point of view to be similar to someone; you're very like your father. You're driven, you're passionate about what you believe in, you feel things deeply but don't always know how to express those feelings, you're stubborn as hell..."

All of that is true, Enjolras knows. And it was true of his dad, as well. So, even as much as he doesn't like to admit it, maybe she's right. Enjolras sighs and runs a hand through his hair. His head is throbbing and he just feels strange, almost blank. He's kind of confused and kind of sad and kind of just exhausted all at once, and suddenly the thought of finishing the study tonight is way too much. He tells his mom he doesn't really want to leave Eponine alone any longer and leaves after he eats his sandwich.

When he opens the front door to his own house, the living room is empty. "Eponine?" he calls. "Where are you?"

"In the kitchen – what are you doing here so early?"

He walks into the kitchen to find her doing dishes at the sink – the lack of a dishwasher in this house really just sucks. He puts his arms around her from behind and rests his chin on her shoulder. He smiles and kisses her neck when he feels a gentle kick from the baby against his palm.

"I decided to finish another day. It was kind of overwhelming."

"Overwhelming as in there was a lot of stuff or overwhelming as in it bothered you to be there?"

"Kind of both," he admits. "He had pictures of me on his desk. And one of us at our wedding, and her sonogram picture. I just...I didn't expect that. I don't know what to think about it."

Eponine reaches for a towel and dries her hands off, then turns so she's facing him. She's studying him thoughtfully. "He was proud of you. And he must have been excited to be a grandpa."

Enjolras nods slowly, feeling an unexpected tightness in his throat and stinging in his eyes. He coughs to cover it up and kisses Eponine's forehead. "I'll finish the dishes. Why don't you go take a bath or watch some mindless TV or something? Stay off your feet for a while."

"Okay." She looks at him knowingly, understanding that he wants to be alone, and leaves the kitchen. Enjolras rolls his sleeves up so they won't get wet, adding some warmer water to the sink before he plunges his hands in. A million thoughts are zooming through his head as he scrubs, and a memory suddenly surfaces. He remembers sitting on the floor of his dad's office, playing underneath the desk and listening to his dad's authoritative voice on the phone with a colleague. He couldn't have been more than four or five years old, and still idolized his father. His dad would always stop working for a few minutes at a time to play with him, though if Enjolras made any noise at all during a phone call, he had to leave the study immediately. The picture of himself on the floor slowly turns into a view of his daughter toddling around her grandfather's desk, and before he even registers what is happening, a strangled sob escapes Enjolras' throat.

He takes a deep breath, trying to get a hold of himself, and is almost calm again when he feels Eponine's hand rubbing a comforting circle on his back. He loses it then, and leans forward, resting his head on his arms on the countertop. Eponine leans against him, but she doesn't say anything, just lets him cry it out.

He finally calms down and turns his head to gaze at Eponine. "I'm sorry."

"Stop it. I was hoping you'd cry about it eventually, Enj. You needed to."

"I know. I just...shit. I know I can't change the past, and now there's nothing I can do about it, but...maybe you're right. Maybe he would have been a better grandfather than he was a dad. And maybe we would have gotten along better for her."

Eponine doesn't say anything, since there's really nothing she can say to make it better, and she knows it. He has to accept it in his own time, on his own terms, and if that means going through the what-ifs and feeling regret about the wasted time and chances for a while, then so be it. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't about to be a dad himself, but he is, and now that he has these feelings for his child, he knows that his dad must have felt _something _for him, too. He wasn't a heartless man.

Eponine takes his hand and squeezes it gently. "I guess the only thing that matters now is that you do it better."

"What if I don't, Eponine? I'm sure my dad didn't plan on his son disliking him so much, either. What if she hates me, too, someday?"

"You didn't like your dad because you felt like he looked down on you and everything you believe in. He didn't accept you or support you, just tried to make you feel guilty for your decisions. And I know for a fact that you are going to love this baby and any other kids we have no matter what. You'll respect their opinions and love them no matter who they are. You won't push them away if they think differently than you. And that's automatically going to mean you do it better."

He knows she's right. But still, this hole in his chest; he really, really hopes it goes away soon. He doesn't want to live with this regret for the rest of his life.

* * *

**Good Lord, this chapter turned out to be way longer than intended. It kind of just got away from me.**

**This whole story is so pointless...**

**Eh, whatever. ha Hope you enjoyed it anyway. :) Happy Holidays!**


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